


The Wooden Puppet

by gracieluu



Series: There Are No Strings [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Pre and post Avengers, SHIELD, SHIELD sucks, Slow Build, Tags May Change, Team Dynamics, Teambuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-02-09 21:56:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 120,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1999368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracieluu/pseuds/gracieluu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You cause me concern." Fury said plainly, sliding the folder closer. Fury watched her as she read the information, an increasing look of alarm making its way onto her face. When she got to the last page she put the file down, closing it quickly. "Apparently, you aren't the only one I cause concern for. Does the government have files like this on everyone? Or am I just special?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Director Nick Fury watched with mixed feelings of confusion and disappointment as yet another interrogator sped out of the borrowed interview room. This one, a middle-aged man who had been recruited for his tenure in Iraq, looked even more spooked than the last. He avoided Fury beyond the obligatory need to tell him that he would not be able to continue with the woman. The soldier had the decency to look ashamed underneath his discomfort as he left the room without another word. Fury had hoped the soldier would be able to make some headway with the obstinate woman, girl more like, currently glaring at the two sided glass. Apparently he had been wrong.

It was a fact that did not sit well with him.

It was for that reason that Fury chose to interrogate her himself. He rolled his shoulders back, tucking her file under his arm, before he stepped into the obscenely bright room. She did not look up, choosing instead to find a sudden fascination in her nubby fingernails.

"What did you do?"

Nick Fury folded his arms over his chest, narrowing his one good eye at the young woman avoiding his gaze defiantly.

"I didn't do anything." She said, eyes moving away from her hands to focus on the air conditioning duct that ran along the length of the room. She gazed at the small ice crystals that formed on the vent a bit more closely than was necessary before she finally turned to look at him. "I hope you realize that I'm not going to talk just because the room is cold." All the same, she rubbed her goose pimpled flesh when she thought he wasn't looking. she rubbed her hands along her bare arms, ignoring the purplish color of cold hands. It was his intention to make her as uncomfortable as possible so he did not find it in himself to care that she was a bit chilly.

Fury took a seat across from her, dropping the file he had been holding on the table. Her eyes slid from his face down to the manila folder, widening when she saw her name printed brazenly across the front in red letters. She forced her expression to become neutral after the shock registered on her face. Fury noticed, with a small amount of satisfaction, that she was still capable of being surprised, despite everything.

"You cause me concern." Fury said plainly, sliding the folder closer. She seemed conflicted for a moment, fingers twitching, before she finally reached a shaking hand forward to open her file. Fury watched her as she read the information, an ever increasing look of alarm sliding its way onto her face. She looked pale in the fluorescent lighting of the room, and slightly sickly. When she got to the last page she put the file down, closing it before she could ponder it further.

"Apparently, you aren't the only one I cause concern for. Does the government have files like this on everyone? Or am I just special?"

"Special is one way of putting it."

"But it isn't the way you would put it?"

There was a defiance in her voice that Fury did not like.

"No, no I would not."

"How would you classify it?" She asked, tilting her head to the side enough to cause her hair to swing over her shoulder. She made a show to look curious as to what he would say, but Fury knew better than to fall for it.

"Bothersome, at best. Problematic, at worst."

"Nick…"

"Director Fury would do." Fury corrected, noting the way her nose scrunched.

"I am assuming it is problematic for you specifically."

"And for you." Fury said. "I do not think I should need to tell you, you especially, what sort of trouble you are in."

"Enlighten me, Director Fury." She emphasized his title in a mocking manner.

"Miss Gudrun," Her mouth twitched at the use of her last name. "Now is not the time and place…"

"Omaha, you mean."

"Omaha." Fury did not question why she knew where she was, despite the fact that she shouldn't even know what state she was in, let alone which city.

"A bit bleak, wouldn't you say?" She asked, leaning forward on her elbows. Her pale eyes flashed in the intense light of the room with the movement. Fury wondered what it was about her that caused three of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best interrogators to leave after only an hour or so in her presence. It wasn't her size, which was unimpressive at best, nor was it her voice, which was accented in a way that most would consider to be charming.

"Stop deflecting."

"You haven't asked me any real questions." She replied, sliding the folder back towards him. "Or told me anything I don't already know."

"I haven't told you anything at all." Fury said, ignoring the papers she was giving back to him.

"You haven't, but they have." She said, leaning back in the chair, seemingly bored with the entire conversation.

"And what exactly did they tell you?" Fury asked, hoping that he might be getting to the important part, the part he cared about. She looked at him for a long moment, eyes narrowing into slits.

"Everything." She finally said, an odd look on her small face. "They told me everything."

"Why don't we start at the beginning then? Tell me what you know about the incident in New Mexico."


	2. Chapter 2

"I passed a kidney stone yesterday."

Avery looked up from digging through her wallet for her last wayward twenty, blinking rapidly. The saleswoman smiled brightly at her, entirely unaware of the inappropriateness of what she had just said. She stared at Avery for a moment too long before she looked down at the pile of stuff on the counter. "I kept it. It was my third one this year." The woman, Dolores according to her nametag, began to bag up Avery's small pile of toiletry refills. "I think I might start a collection."

"That's," Avery paused, the twenty completely forgotten. "That's really nice."

Dolores smiled even brighter. "Thanks, sweetie."

Avery pointedly looked away from the woman as she bagged up her items. She looked around the small store, taking note of the minimal amount of products. It was a smelly place, the kind that she generally liked to avoid. She had noticed, during her short time perusing the aisles, that it had a rather large selection of pickled foods, among other equally odd things. She imagined the smell was coming from the unfortunate combination of moldy carpets and Dolores' overwhelming odor of a cat-lady.

"Cash or credit?"

Avery, who had been eyeing a rubber alien stapled to the wall with dissatisfaction, turned back to Dolores. "I'm sorry?"

"Cash or credit." Dolores had the nerve to look at Avery like she was the looney one.

"Cash." Avery handed over the crumpled up twenty, avoiding eye contact pointedly.

"So, are you staying in town or just passing through?" Avery wished, rather suddenly, that she wasn't morally and socially obligated to engage in small talk. She found it to be rather useless and, more often than not, horribly uncomfortable. "I would hope you are just passing through. I've never cared for the tourists who come through here. All a bunch of nonbelieving ninny's, the lot of them." Avery rolled her eyes, extending her hand out for the change that Dolores had completely forgotten about. "You know, it's real. All of it. I've been probed. You can't make that sort of thing up, now can you."

"I'm late for work, so if you could…"

"So you are sticking around, then?"

"Unfortunately."

"You'll have to come to one of our UFO watch parties. They're a real hoot."

"I can only imagine." Avery scratched her head awkwardly, wishing nothing more than to never speak to the woman again in her entire life. She hadn't been to a party that had been described as a hoot before and she had no plans of changing that anytime soon.

Dolores finally handed Avery her change with grubby hands that were stained from what Avery assumed were years of cigarette abuse. She noticed that her nails were covered in fluorescent pink nail polish, with a small green alien standing out prominently on her thumb nail. Avery couldn't exactly say she was surprised. She took her change, trying her best to avoid making contact with the woman. She grabbed her plastic bag of stuff, fully planning on walking out of the small store without saying another word. She was stopped by Dolores.

"I'll see you around, sweetie."

Avery certainly hoped not.

She stepped outside the small general store and onto the main street. She hoped, rather sincerely, that the smell of cat-lady hadn't stuck to her. It wouldn't bode well for her first day of work. They had already done her a favor by hiring her, she didn't need to go and offend the customers on her first day. She glanced around her, trying to remember which direction the restaurant was in. It all looked the same to her, what with it's over the top use of alien décor. She began to walk in the direction that looked vaguely correct to her. She ignored the eccentrically dressed locals as they waved at her. She did not want them to think that she wanted to engage in small talk with them. It never turned out the way she had wanted. People were always a bit too honest with her, a bit too forthcoming for her taste. The result was her being burned out on the entire concept of interacting with other human beings as whole.

Avery ducked her head, walking along in the blistering sun for what felt like hours before she finally arrived at the doors of the restaurant she was gainfully employed at as of three days ago.

It was just like every other place in the town; garishly decorated with aliens and overflowing with fanny-packed tourists of the overweight variety. The one redeeming feature, in her eyes, was the name. _The Restaurant at the End of the Universe_ had caught her eye when she had first pulled into town four days ago. Douglas Adams had been one of her personal favorites growing up. The clever name only went so far, however. The inside was still painted with shoddy stars and cheesy little green men. Her stomach squirmed at the thought.

Money was money, even if it did come from a bunch of looney birds. She could only hope the crazy didn't rub off on her. She didn't have plans to stay long enough on the off chance that it did so she didn't fear too much.

"Avery!" Avery looked up, not having realized how long she had been standing outside the double glass doors. Her new manager, a balding man named Wayne, seemed to have seen one too many kids puking on his restaurant's black and white linoleum floors to put up with her shenanigans. He held the door open for her, gesturing with a wave of his hairy arm for her to floor him inside. "You're blocking the way for paying customers."

Avery did not dignify him with a response.

"You'll need to get changed into your uniform. Nancy, in the back, will show you how to do your hair. Come find me when you're done."

He left her standing in the middle of the crowded restaurant. She looked around for a moment, wondering for what felt like the hundredth time why she decided that the restaurant industry was the best choice for someone who liked to avoid people, before she finally maneuvered her way into the back to find Nancy.

Nancy was about as bland as they came. She was a plump woman who wore a bit too much makeup and drank a bit too much on the job. Avery thought she might combust if she stood too close to an open flame, but she kept that opinion to herself. Nancy smiled when she saw Avery. It was an awkward gesture that made the fat on her face pull up in odd ways. Avery realized, in that moment of judging Nancy, that she might have been alone for a bit too long. She had forgotten her lessons on polite human interaction.

"Oh, sug you'll fill out that dress nicely." Nancy eyed her up and down. "Size seven I'd guess."

"How did you know?" Avery asked, forcing herself to make an effort with the smiling woman.

"I have enough lovers to know how to spot a seven when I see one." Avery coughed, being reminded once again why she generally avoided talking to people.

"Don't worry. You aren't my type."

"I'm flattered."

"I think we'll be friends, me and you." Nancy smiled once again, reaching over to pat Avery on the shoulder. Avery could think of nothing to say besides laughing halfheartedly in response.

Nancy gave her a dress, a green atrocity with a too short hemline, and showed her how to pull her hair back into a tight ponytail before she sent her back to begin her first shift. Avery supposed Nancy wasn't so bad. Her honesty wasn't as alarming as others and there were worst things than being told you filled out a dress nicely. It usually started out like that though, which is why Avery was hesitant. People had secrets that they didn't mind sharing and they had secrets that were secrets for a reason.

Around Avery there seemed to be no distinction.

* * *

Two shifts and 45 dollars in tips later, Avery found herself sitting on the counter nursing her wounds with a small slice of pie. Working in the restaurant industry, even for a mere six hours, left one doubting that there was any decency left in humanity in the slightest.

"Seven, if you keep eating that pie you'll get fat." Avery looked up, annoyed that she wasn't allowed to eat her dessert in peace. Nancy seemed as chipper as ever, even going so far as to swipe some of the whipped cream from the side of Avery's plate. "There's some stragglers you need to take care of, at table six."

"Why me?" Avery asked, pulling her plate away from Nancy before she could take more of it.

"Because I don't want to."

Avery stood up, handing her half eaten piece of pie to Nancy. She wanted to get out of her scratchy dress as fast as possible. She thought the dye was cheap enough to run when it came in contact with liquid, so she was certain her back was now vaguely green from her sweat. She pushed the swinging doors, trying to remember which table was six when she saw them. There were three of them, all dressed in clothes that suggested they had spent their time out in the dessert. All of their plates were empty and a bit of change was sitting on the table indicating that they had already paid. The youngest of the three was talking loudly about something that seemed to annoy the other two. She couldn't be bothered to care.

Avery didn't care either, incidentally.

She walked over to them, fixing her face into what she hoped was a stern yet polite expression.

"I don't understand why you thought I would like this place, Darcy." The other brunette spoke up.

"I thought you might enjoy the alieny theme."

"It's not…"

"I understand they aren't all dreamboats, but they are from outer space so they have to get brownie points for trying."

"Blow-up aliens in a cheap roadside dinner do not get brownie points."

"Well they don't with that attitude."

"Darcy." The other brunette seemed worn out. Avery couldn't blame her if the other woman, Darcy, was always like that. "I just want to go back to…"

"Moping. You want to go back to moping. When Thor comes back he isn't going to like all that time you've been spending with Ben & Jerry."

The third person, an older man, looked up from his lap. He glanced around the restaurant, eyes widening when he saw Avery standing by the kitchen, listening intently to what they were saying. He elbowed the talkative one. She looked offended for a moment, before she too saw Avery.

"Hi." She said a bit too loudly. "Nice dress."

"We're closing up."

"Not one for small talk, are you?" Avery took a few steps towards them, wishing that they would choose to get up and leave before she needed to say something more forceful. "Apparently not."

"Look, we need to shut off the lights."

"We're leaving." The tired looking brunette said, standing up.

"Do you serve alcohol? She's had a rough day." Darcy said, forcing the other one to sit back down with a rough yank.

"We do, but like I said…"

"Jane's alien boyfriend, Thor, this super hunky Asgardian, promised he'd come back and he hasn't been seen for three months. We spent the entire day in the blazing hot sun looking for signs and found nothing. Zilch. Bupkiss." She paused when she saw the look she was getting from both her dinner companions and Avery. "Why did I just tell you that?"

Avery shook her head, hoping that Darcy was crazy. Otherwise, the people in this town weren't as misguided as Avery originally thought.

"Darcy." The other woman, Jane, hissed angrily. "We're leaving. Ignore everything she just said. It's true, but ignore it."

The man looked at the two of them like they had suddenly spouted three heads. "Oh my god. Why…"

Avery wasn't quite sure how she was supposed to respond to them. In all of her life, in all of her twenty-two and a half years, never once had someone told her something so important, something so uncomfortably life-changing. She glanced down at her dress, hoping the obnoxious color of it would bring her back to the conversation and topic at hand. She wanted nothing more than to return to her dingy motel room and pretend she had heard none of what had just been said.

"How are you doing this?"

The accusatory look on Jane's face alarmed Avery. She immediately took a step back. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, yes you did. I would never tell someone something like that." Jane seemed simultaneously anger and confused. "It's a…"

"I get it. Trust me, I get it. It's a secret. It's yours. Why don't you three just go and we'll forget this ever happened."

"No. How did you do that?" Jane seemed genuinely angry. Avery shock her head, hoping that Nancy, or even Wayne, would notice the commotion out front. She didn't imagine they would. Wayne was probably busy counting money while Nancy was too busy having a love affair with a piece of pie. "Tell me what you did to make me and Darcy tell you that."

"I," Avery held her hands up in front of her. This was the exact sort of thing that made her wish to live her life away from people. They said uncomfortable things, kept dirty, alarming secrets. "I didn't do anything. I swear, not intentionally."

Jane did not seem convinced.

"What are you?" She asked with conviction.

"I…"

"What are you?" She asked again, enunciating every single word.

Avery didn't know how to respond. No one had ever noticed it before. No one had ever asked about the odd amount of honesty that always seemed to be following her wherever she went. Jane was the first person to ever notice, and Avery found, now that she was confronted with explaining the anomaly that she was, she had no genuine way to answer her. She imagined it was because, despite having lived with it for twenty-two and a half years, she still hadn't figured it out for herself.

She still didn't know what she was and that thought scared her more than she cared to admit.


	3. Chapter 3

"You spin a nice story, but I hope you don't honestly expect me to believe you." Avery picked at her cuticles, allowing herself to look offended for a moment before she gave up the charade entirely. "Now, the truth, if you don't mind."

"Look Nick,"

"Director Fury."

"I don't really think I'm going to tell you, so you might as well give up now before you waste any more of your time." Avery said very plainly, hoping that they would let her go.

Director Fury nodded his head, seeming to think over something. There was an awkward silence, during which Avery did her absolute best to look un-phased by the situation she found herself in. In general, and Avery tended to be a person who relished in generalities, interrogation rooms were not comfortable. This one seemed like it was ripped right of the screen of a cheesy buddy cop movie. She even thought she picked up the smell of stale coffee and outdated cleaner lingering.

Director Fury cleared his throat, forcing her attention back to him.

"Miss Gudrun, if you don't start cooperating, things will go very badly for you, very quickly."

"I have rights." Avery said, hoping to somehow divert his attention. "You can't keep me here for no reason. It's unconstitutional." Even as she said it it sounded like a flimsy attempt at reasoning coming from an even flimsier human.

The only response Fury deemed appropriate was laughing at her. She failed to see what was so funny, causing her shift uncomfortably in her seat. He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms over his chest as he continued laughing in a deep baritone that in other circumstances would seem pleasant. As it were, Avery thought he looked very much like a stereotypical super villain, eye-patch and all. After what felt like an eternity he finally stopped laughing, at her she presumed, and once again refocused his attention on her.

"We aren't the U.S. government, Miss Gudrun. Our scope is a bit bigger than that, and we are a hell of a lot more resourceful."

"You don't have to laugh." Avery hated how much she sounded like a toddler. "It's not like I use flash cards to brush up on my secret agencies every night just in case it's a Jeopardy question."

"I was under the impression that you already knew. You said so yourself. 'They told me everything.' I believe it was."

"I'm not a mind reader." Avery had officially lost all of her patience. "It doesn't work that way."

"Explain, then." Fury prompted. His face was devoid of expression despite having just effectively laughed at her stupidity. "Tell me how it works."

"Do I get to leave?" She asked, hoping beyond a hope that he would say yes. With every moment that passed it became more and more clear that her usual stubbornness wasn't going to work. No matter how long she sat there, refusing to tell them anything, she imagined they could sit there longer. They had a bathroom after all, and she didn't. One could only be stubborn for so long before it switched towards being outright stupid. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

Avery had always prided herself on being able to toe the line, as it were. She sat up straighter, making up her mind.

"Depends on what you tell me."

"I guess I'll start when I turned seven then."

* * *

" _Avery Marie Gudrun!"_

_Seven year old Avery looked up from where she was currently melting plastic aliens on the steamy sidewalk. The blue one, the one she had dubbed Arthur, was already losing shape. His little fingers ran together in a small plastic puddle, sticking to the cement. She dropped the pink one next to the blue one, hoping that eventually they would melt together and create a blob of purplish plastic. She had lost track of how long she had been sitting outside in the blazing sun. Long enough to be missed, apparently._

" _Avery! You stop ignoring me this instant!" Avery looked down at the little aliens for a moment, contemplating pretending she had spontaneously lost the ability to hear, before she lifted herself off the dying grass. Her teacher, Mrs. Hibley, did not look impressed. She marched over to her, fanning herself with her large hand, before she stopped in front of Avery. "We have been looking for you for hours. We almost had to call your mother."_

_Mrs. Hibley said it as if it was a threat._

" _Well?" She crossed her very large arms over her equally large chest. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Avery looked down at the little aliens again. "Oh, Avery. Why must we go through this every time?" Avery didn't have an answer. Mrs. Hibley reached down to grab Avery by the hand. Avery squirmed, hating the feeling of Mrs. Hibley's sweating hands on her own. It was the middle of September in southern New Mexico and impossibly hot. Avery could see the ever present moisture on her teacher's upper lip increasing with every extra moment they spent outside. "Timothy doesn't mean anything by what he says, Avery. He's just being a boy."_

_Avery did not have the guts to tell her teacher that she was wrong._

" _Honestly, its children like you that make me regret becoming a teacher. My husband, the lazy so-and-so, is emotionally needy enough." It took Mrs. Hibley approximately half a moment to realize what she had just said. It took Avery less than that to remove her hand from her teacher's. Mrs. Hibley had a mixture of shock on her face and true regret. "Oh, I don't know what came over me."_

* * *

"It started with touches?" Fury asked, opening up her file to take notes.

"I guess. The boy, Timothy, had been pulling my hair so I had reached a hand over to shove him, and he told me something truly awful when I touched him." Avery said, discomfort written across her face.

"Elaborate."

"No." It was hard enough for Avery having to divulge something she had been guarding for so long to a man that apparently had never heard of wearing anything that didn't come in black leather. She was not willing to start spouting out all of the horrible things she had heard over the years as well. "He was a creepy little kid and he said creepy little kid things."

"So, when you touched them they started telling you the truth?" Fury asked, clearly unimpressed with her unwillingness to tell him everything.

"I thought that at first." Fury sighed at her unhelpful answer. "But, I was only seven so I was bit taken by the idea that I might have been a human lie detector."

"But you weren't, aren't."

"No. Not in the slightest."

"Miss Gudrun,"

"I'm getting there. Calm down."

* * *

" _Mom! It happened again today!" Avery dropped her backpack on the ground, kicking off her worn out converse as she went. She could hear her mom singing in the kitchen. The sounds of Starship, her mother's favorite band for some odd reason, playing from the old radio in the crackly way that Avery was convinced her mother liked the sound of. We Built This City, a song that Avery was sure she would be able to recite in her sleep, was drowned out by her mother's obnoxiously loud singing._

" _Mom!"_

" _What!" There was a sound of frantic steps, followed by a click that killed the music. Avery rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall as she waited for her mother to come bolting from the kitchen. "You aren't bleeding are you?" Her mother slid into the hallway, slipping on her mismatched socks. Her ratty t-shirt was covered in what appeared to be a very large amount of paint, and she was wearing her self-dubbed 'creativity pants'. She visibly relaxed when she saw Avery looking at her with a snarky look on her face._

" _Why would I come home if I was bleeding?" Avery asked, walking towards her._

" _Avie, you know better than to scream at me while I'm painting." Her mother, La as she had apparently named herself when she was three, reached out a paint covered hand to Avery. "Now what was it you were on about?"_

" _It happened again today."_

" _It? Like_ It _It?"_

" _What else would I be referring to?" Avery moved past her mother into the brightly lit kitchen. She wished she hadn't. It was a true disaster zone. Open paint containers were on every flat surface available. A canvas that seemed to take up half of the room perched on a rickety easel. Avery almost turned around to walk out when she was stopped by her mother's hands on her shoulders. She was certain she would have blue hand prints stained into her shirt, but she pointedly ignored that._

" _We need a name for it."_

" _Like what? Avery's freakish talent? Or, why Avery always seems to be in the middle of uncomfortable situations? Or, even better, why is everybody so weird?"_

" _What happened?" Her mother opened the fridge as Avery perched herself carefully on the dirty paint stool. She was looking forward to when her mother moved on to a less messy way of expressing herself. Last month it had been interpretive dance. She hoped for something like didgeridoo lessons next time. Avery had already sat in enough paint buckets for her liking._

" _Same old, same old." Avery took the cookie her mother was plying her with, shoving it into her mouth moodily._

" _Avie."_

" _Cameron, you know that weird kid with glasses that cover all of his face? He said he walked in on his mother having an affair with his uncle. I wasn't even touching him. We were sitting next to each other in the library and he just starts babbling about it." Her mother was unusually quiet. "It's never happened like that before. I've always had to touch people."_

" _I wouldn't worry about it, Avery."_

" _But mom, it's progressing!" Avery stood up from her seat. "What if it keeps getting worse?"_

* * *

"And your mother didn't have an answer?" Fury was scribbling things down in her file, barely looking up at her. "She had nothing to tell you about your odd powers?" Avery didn't like them being called 'odd', but she chose not to comment on that.

"No."

"How old were you?"

"Thirteen." Avery remembered, very suddenly, how much she had hated being thirteen. It was the worst year of her life, for more reasons than one. She dug her fingernails into her palms, forcing her attention to move away from the painful memories.

"Why did you suddenly not need to touch people?" Fury asked, gaze drifting down to her clenched hands.

"I don't know. It just happened. One day I was avoiding touching people like the plague and the next day it didn't really matter."

"Is that what happened to Jane Foster?"

"Pardon?" Avery squeezed her hands even tighter.

"When you encountered the scientist Jane Foster in New Mexico three months ago, did you use this power on her? You no longer need to touch people in order to get them to tell the truth. Is that what you did to Jane Foster?"

"First of all, I didn't do anything to Jane. Second of all, I don't compel people to tell the truth." Avery said through gritted teeth. She glared at Director Fury with all the malice she could muster. "I already told you I wasn't a human lie detector."

"I am not playing games with you. I want answers, and I am no longer in the mood to wait."

"Were you ever in that mood in the first place?"

"Jane Foster, along with Darcy Lewis and Dr. Eric Selvig encountered you on the evening of March the 23rd, 11:30 p.m. They divulged top secret information that only a limited number of people are privileged enough to know. And yet, they told you without even knowing your name. Why is that?"

"I was in the middle of telling you the story. You don't have to get snappy."

"You are a very real threat, Miss Gudrun. Playing innocent will not help your case. Now you either start telling me the truth about yourself, or I will be forced to take more drastic measures." Director Fury closed the folder and threw it on the table. He tossed the pen on top of it with so much force the cap bounced off.

Avery took that as a physical representation of his general attitude towards her.

"What sort of measures?"

"The kind that you could easily compel me to tell you."

"I suppose." Avery saw Director Fury's upper lip twitch slightly.

"Can you control it?" He finally asked after a long moment. His one uncovered eye was appraising her in the sort of manner that people usually did when they trusted you about as far as they could throw you. She thought he might be able to throw her farther than he trusted her, but that was hardly relevant. Avery pondered for a moment about how to answer him. She hardly felt comfortable telling him the truth, in whole, but she felt even less comfortable keeping information from him. He seemed like he had the means to carry through on his threats, violent or otherwise.

"More than I used to be able to." She finally said, fully hating herself for even talking about it.

"Were you controlling it when you encountered Jane Foster?"

"No. She just came out of nowhere. I didn't think I would have to." Avery felt like the lights were suddenly much brighter than before, beating down on her in an intense manner. "I am right now though."

"And why is that?"

"People tend to dislike me. Something about spilling their secrets involuntarily makes them a bit touchy."

"I can imagine." Director Fury leaned back, re-crossing his arms over his chest. "Here's what's going to happen. You will tell no one what you conversed about with Miss Foster, you will not write it down, and you will not think about it from this point forward."

"You can't exactly control my thoughts."

"I can damn well try."

"Fine, I'll be silent as the grave. Can I go?"

"No. I'm afraid that's no longer an option for you, Miss Gudrun." Fury stood up, scooping up the folder to tuck under his arm as he went. "As much as it pains me to say, and I am sure I will regret not locking you up here and now far away from any and all human interaction, but it appears your encounter with Miss Foster was your unofficial application for employment."

"Excuse me?" Avery leaned back in her chair to get a better look at him.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D."


	4. Chapter 4

Avery rubbed her hands over her butt, feeling her annoyance growing with each passing second. She pushed her hips out towards the mirror for a moment longer before she let out a sigh and turned her gaze away from her own backside.

"Are you done?"

"I don't understand how these pants can make my ass look enormous and yet somehow flat all at the same time." Avery chanced a glance at her reflection once again, only to instantly regret it.

"Budget cuts. We aren't going in uniform, so you can stop worrying about your ass."

"You could have told me that before I got dressed." Avery snorted in annoyance, reaching a hand down to pick up her equally unflattering S.H.I.E.L.D. issue jacket before she moved to her dresser to grab a change of clothes. He was wearing street clothes, ones that didn't make his posterior region look disgusting, she noticed, and had his bow and quiver strapped to his back. It was an odd contrast. She slipped into her bathroom and changed clothes quickly before she hurried back out. She slipped her leather jacket on, waiting for Clint to tell her why he was there. It wasn't as if he came to visit her voluntarily. No one did. Once Fury had debriefed them on her abilities they tended to avoid her, even though she hadn't done anything to them personally.

"So…"

"Natasha is on assignment. Looks like I'm stuck with you."

"You're very charming, you know." Avery was used to the less than enthusiastic reaction she got from most of the agents that were forced to interact with her. The job tended to attract people with more secrets than hairs on their heads, and Avery, as much as she tried to control it, tended to make those people wary. Clint Barton was no exception, although he wasn't as bad as some. She had only spoken to him twice before this instance, so she was a bit unsure of why he was there. The only people she interacted with on a regular basis were her instructor, Dr. Fitz, and Fury when he thought to grace her with his presence and check up on her progress. "Why do you need me? Fury hasn't let me leave base for two months. Why now?"

Clint, who had been busy picking at some of the tchotchkes Avery had scattered around her quarters while she was changing, ignored her question. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Where are we going?" Avery's hands twitched as she tried to fight the urge to just force him to tell her. "I mean, I might need a thicker jacket or maybe some sunscreen if we're hitting up the tropics."

"We aren't going to the tropics."

"Damn. And here I thought you had finally realized your feelings for me and were whisking me away to some undisclosed romantic vacation."

"Gudrun." Clint put the slinky he had been holding back on her standard issue nightstand.

"You can call me Avery, you know." Avery swung open the door to her closet, searching around until she saw her favorite pair of worn in leather boots. She pointedly ignored the annoyed sigh Clint gave when she sat on the ground to pull them onto her feet. She got the first one on before she realized that she had forgotten her socks. "Will you throw me a pair of socks?" Clint folded his arms over his chest, raising one of his eyebrows in an unimpressed manner. "Pretty please?"

He walked over to the single dresser she had begrudgingly and opened up the topmost drawer. "Why do you have so many pairs of underwear?"

"Why are you looking at my underwear?" Avery smirked over her shoulder, winking at him when she saw the look on his face. "Creep."

"Here." He tossed a pair of mismatched socks at her and closed the drawer before she could say anything else to him. "Now, let's go."

Avery shoved her feet into her socks and boots in hurried motion. She stood up and looked around her bleak room, thinking if there was anything else she needed. She didn't know where they were going so she felt a little bubble of anxiety, that might have actually been indigestion from the questionable tacos the night before, forming. This was the first time she was being let off base and she didn't exactly know what she was supposed to do. She forced herself to appear nonchalant about leaving, straightening her shoulders in a determined way as she walked to her door and walked out, leaving it open for Clint. When it took him a moment to follow her, she peeked back inside, smiling even wider at him despite her apprehension.

"We don't have all day, Clint."

"Shut up, Avery."

* * *

Avery leaned back into her seat on the plane, tapping her heels on the ground. Clint, who had chosen a seat as far away from her as possible, glanced up. She tapped her feet louder when she noticed his eyes trailing down to her boots. She was practically stomping them by the time he snapped at her to be quiet. He went back to ignoring her, which left Avery with no other options for entertaining herself. She wished that, for some odd reason, they weren't leaving base in the first place. She had been stuck in the training wing for two months and had imagined what it would be like when Fury finally sent her out on an assignment hundreds of times. Going to New York hadn't exactly crossed her mind.

Avery had only been to New York once. Her mother had taken them when Avery was ten to go a see a Broadway play. It had quickly backfired when the person sitting next to them had promptly confessed to double homicide during the intermission.

For some reason, New York had never had quite the same appeal for Avery since them.

"We'll be landing in 3 minutes, Sir." Clint stood up. He pulled off his bow and quiver and placed it in the seat he had just vacated. He noticed her watching him with narrowed eyes.

"We'll be blending in."

"Ah. I guess you would stand out with a giant bow strapped to your back." She stood up as well, shaking out her limbs. She felt idiotic for doing so, but she had seen the other agents doing that before sparring practice, so she thought it might be the appropriate thing to do. "Only losers like archery anyway."

His only response was a glare that she was certain he practiced in the mirror.

"I'm kidding, of course."

"There was an incident in New York approximately three days ago involving species unknown. A biological weapon was released in a high population area that led to the partial mutation of police officers and pedestrians in the area. A cure was administered and all negative side effects were reversed within a couple of hours under hospital supervision. Multiple onlookers reported sightings of a large lizard-like creature as well as a man dressed in a red and blue costume shooting webs out of his hands like a spider. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been monitoring the situation over the last couple of months. However, because of recent events intervention is now necessary."

Avery was silent for a moment, taking in all the official sounding information for a moment before she finally spoke. "Wicked."

"What?"

"This is like a real assignment. Like for real. I thought Fury was sending us to stop a particularly rowdy bunch of hooligans from tagging a park bench or something. But, this is like real shit."

Clint blinked at her, seeming to try and decide how to respond to her words before he turned away from her. "Director Fury seemed to think it was time you got out and tested your," He paused, bending down to pick up a small case. "Abilities."

"Oh." Avery instantly felt all her excitement, which had sprung up out of nowhere after Clint told her about their assignment, disappear entirely.

"Oh, what?" Clint seemed hesitant to ask her why she had suddenly switched from being excited to moody in a matter of seconds.

"I'm not going to use my powers."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to. Look last time I did, I got kidnapped by a super-secret agency and haven't been able to go home since. Well, you guys aren't actually that secret, but whatever. The answer is still no."

"That's the reason you're here."

"Really? I thought it was for devilish sense of humor and great smile."

"Fine. I'll just tell Fury that you're refusing to comply. You can go back to the hole for two more months if you want, or you can use your abilities to help S.H.I.E.L.D. and prove you worth all the money and time that's been spent training you so you don't end up spilling secrets that could get you, or someone else, killed, or worse. Now, are you going to stop acting like a child?"

"Maybe we do need to go to the tropics. You could really use some R & R for all that stress and anger you have pent up." When he glared at her, she threw her hands up in a defeated way. "Okay, fine. But I can't guarantee that this will work out in the way you guys hope. I can't control it as good as I like to pretend and if things start to go badly there's no telling what will happen."

"Follow my lead and nothing bad should happen. There will be back up agents around the perimeter just in case things get out of hand."

The plane began to dip, causing Avery, who had very little experience with flying, to stumble. She immediately sat back in her seat, sticking her hands up underneath her legs. She could tell Clint was watching her warily, but she ignored him. As happy as she was to be getting away from base for a little while, she wasn't happy about the reason. She had known that eventually they would ask her to use her powers, but she kept thinking it would be later rather than sooner. Stress made them harder to control and, as a general rule of thumb, she liked to avoid situations that put unnecessary stress on her. There was a reason she had chosen the middle of the New Mexico desert. New York was filled with people and people meant stress and stress meant Avery got to know a lot more about people than she would like. She had tried to avoid using her powers after what had happened with Jane Foster for obvious reasons. Now that she was being asked to use them, and more troubling, keep them under control completely, she wasn't exactly sure what would happen.

Avery was staring at the ground, trying to count her heartbeats, when the plane landed with a soft thud.

"You need to relax." Clint said, drawing her away from her counting.

"I'm fine."

"I've read the transcripts from your instructor. He noticed that when you were under a great amount of stress you have a harder time controlling it." She finally looked up at him, noticing that he didn't look as annoyed with her as he usually did. "If you feel like it's starting to get away from you, tell me. I've had a talk a few people down from the ledge a time or two."

Avery nodded slowly, not entirely sure if she believed him completely. She knew he meant it to sound like he had the situation under control, but she couldn't help but think he had no idea what he was dealing with when it came to her. She allowed him to have his delusions, however, and forced herself to put a smile on her face. "Let's go get that lizard."

"Oh, the lizard is dead. We're going after the spider."

* * *

"We look like pedophiles." Avery said, peering out from behind the bush at the school in front of them. Midtown Science High School looked about as normal as most high schools did. Avery considered herself to be an expert on the matter, considering how many she had attended. She looked over at Clint, expecting to see him responding in some way to her statement. He didn't. He simply kept his gaze on the high school. Avery watched him for a moment longer before she too turned her attention back to the virtually deserted school yard. "You know, I don't think many spiders enroll themselves in high school. I think they're more into things like spin class or weaving at the local community center."

No response.

"Get it? Spin class? Weaving? It's a spider joke."

"Be quiet, Avery."

Avery stuck her tongue out at him, but followed his instructions all the same. She wished he had picked a shadier spot. The sun was beating down on her, making her sweat underneath her leather jacket. She didn't dare take it off, considering Clint had forced her to wear a bullet proof vest over her shirt. While she was thankful that on the off chance they were going to be shot at she would have protection, she wasn't thankful for the heat it added. She was certain by the end of the day she would be stewing in her own stinky juices.

After three hours sitting outside the school, Avery gave up watching the doors. She sat down in the scrubby grass cross-legged, perfectly content with letting Clint keep watch. It certainly wasn't as fun or exciting as she had expected something involving humans of the possible lizard and spider variety to be. In fact, it was quite boring. Clint didn't seem to mind that time was moving at a glacial pace in the hot sun. Avery noticed enough for the both of them and reminded him as much as possible while they sat there.

"Maybe he isn't here. Maybe he broke one of his eight legs."

"Whoever told you you were funny lied to your face." Clint said, glancing over at her. "Of all the spider jokes, you had to go with something about eight legs."

"You didn't seem to understand my other ones so I thought I would dumb it down for you."

"That's very considerate of you."

Avery shifted her position, ignoring how moist her pants were. She was happy that Clint was finally seeming to warm up to her. People usually avoided her after they spilled their guts to her, not before, so the metaphorical shunning she had gotten during her time at S.H.I.E.L.D. had caught her a little off guard. She didn't mind, per say, but she couldn't deny that she liked it when people took the time to actually talk to her, even if it was forced by a certain eye-patch wearing director in this case.

"I know this is probably a stupid question…" Avery started, moving so that she could see the front entrance of the school again.

"There are no stupid questions, only stupid questioners."

"Regardless, we keep talking about spiders and I keep pretending to know what the hell we're talking about so I'll look cool or whatever, but something has been bothering me."

"And what would that be?"

"We aren't talking about an actual spider right?"

"No, we aren't."

"Good, because spiders scare the shit out of me." Avery confessed, wiping some of the sweat on her neck off when her equally sweaty hand. He laughed, which surprised Avery so much she jumped at the sound. She watched him for a moment, half expecting him to be faking, before she joined in in an uncomfortable way.

He looked back at the school, still chuckling to himself, for a moment before he stood up suddenly. Avery, as slow on the uptake as ever, stood up as well, looking around to see what he had seen. He pulled the little box out from under his shirt and opened it quickly. Avery hadn't even noticed he had brought it with him, which was yet another reminder that S.H.I.E.L.D. might be placing a bit more faith in her spying abilities that they should have. The little box held what looked like a dart gun with a few almost lethal looking darts. Clint loaded the darts into the gun before he pushed his way out of the bushes and ran towards the school. Avery stood there, wondering what on earth was happening, before she decided she was probably meant to follow along after him.

That was easier said than done. Clint had about a foot on her height wise and was in substantially better shape. That didn't stop him from sprinting away, following along after a shape that Avery thought looked distinctly human.

Avery struggled to keep breathing as she sprinted after him, determined not to lose him. It was her first time out and about, after the whole Jane Foster incident, and she wasn't about to go screwing it up badly enough to get herself put back into isolation for yet another indefinite amount of time. Clint had chased the person beyond the school grounds and into an area that Avery would have avoided if the situation had been different. The amount of graffiti was enough to make her question the area altogether. She had just about lost them when she came upon Clint holding the person against a wall in a side alley. Avery skidded to a halt and walked over to them, thoroughly embarrassed about how heavily she was breathing.

"You could have told me there would be running involved." Avery wheezed, coming up to stand next to Clint and the unknown person.

"The target was getting away."

Avery looked over at said target, instantly wondering about Clint's ability to pick out questionable looking people in a crowd. Skinny teenage boys certainly didn't seem like the type to be involved with biological agents, dangerous or otherwise. He was tall and looked like he could each a sandwich or twenty and had messy brown hair that just barely brushed the tops of his glasses.

"He's a kid, Clint."

"His name is Peter Parker. In addition to being a high school student he likes to dress up in a costume and swing around New York on webs."

Avery, finally having enough of feeling like she was going to have a heat stroke, stripped off her leather jacket and tied it around her waist. "He's the spider?"

"Who are you?" The kid, Peter, asked. His words seemed slightly slurred, like they were hard for him to say. "What do you want?"

"Why is he talking like that?"

"He shot me with something." Peter said, indignation mixing with the alarm on his face.

"You shot him?" Avery turned to Clint. "He's like twelve."

"Seventeen, actually."

"I wouldn't have shot you if you would've listened to me when I told you to stop running." Clint said, ignoring the way Avery was looking at him. "But that is hardly relevant. I want to know how you got these abilities."

Avery wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She had thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was a bit shady, but she had never thought they would be the kind to bully children. Apparently, she had been horribly misinformed during her time in isolation.

"Who are you?" Peter asked again, trying to get out of Clint's vice-like grip on his shoulder.

"We work for someone that has noticed you. You made quite a stir with the whole lizard incident, Parker. You have officially made it impossible to ignore you. Now, tell me where you got these abilities." Clint said, still holding Peter by the shoulder.

"No." Avery was afraid Peter was going to say that. She closed her eyes, hoping in a rather foolish way that Clint would just leave it at that. She knew he wouldn't, however.

"Avery, do it."

"I don't really thin…"

"Now."

Peter turned his gaze on Avery, a small amount of fear on his face. He tried to scoot back from her when she stepped forward, but the large brick wall he was being held up against prevented him from doing so. She thought she might have been just as scared as he was. She didn't know what sort of things he was going to say. After all these years, people never failed to surprise and disappoint her with the secrets they carried. Seventeen year olds were no exception. "I'm Avery, by the way." Avery said as a way of stalling. "And I'm really sorry about this." She touched his arm gently when Clint nodded his head towards her. She didn't exactly expect it to work the way Clint wanted. She had made it very clear that she didn't make people tell the truth. She wasn't sure why that was so hard for people to understand. She closed her eyes, trying her best to stay in control as she touched his arm with the very tip of her pointer finger.

"I was bit by a spider and now I can do all sorts of things that should be impossible. It isn't contagious or anything like that."

Avery immediately removed her hand, forcing herself to pull back her abilities.

"What was that?" Peter asked, his face expressing the usual look of violation that most people sported after they realized what Avery had done. "How did you do that?"

"It's not as cool as being able to swing from webs." Avery stepped back, feeling very mean for having forced a kid to spill his secret. "But I guess it has its uses."

"I'll say. How does it work? Do you just touch people and they tell the truth or…"

"Okay, enough chitchat." Clint cut off their conversation before it could go any further. "I'll keep it simple, kid. You made a name for yourself with what happened three days ago. S.H.I.E.L.D. will be watching you from now on. You do anything that hints at being a threat we'll be back for you. Got it?"

"He means that in the least threatening way possible, of course. Because, threatening minors is never cool, right Clint?"

"We'll be in touch, Parker."

"Who are you? Actually, more importantly, who are they?" Peter pointed over his shoulder. Avery followed the line of his hand, not sure what she was expecting to see. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents surrounding the alley seemed like a bit of overkill, considering they were all pointing guns at Peter.

"They have a flair for dramatics, obviously." Avery said, shooting a dry look at Clint, who had finally decided to remove his hand from Peter's shoulder.

"Obviously."

"Alright, enough you two. Parker, stay out of trouble."

He stepped back from Peter and began to walk out of the alley. He waved his hand at the agents, watching them as they all slunk back off to wherever they had come from before he turned back to Avery. "Let's go."

"That's it?" Avery asked, surprised at how quickly they were leaving.

"That's it. He isn't a threat and we've made it clear that if he becomes one, he'll have us to answer to."

Avery tuned back to Peter, smiling at him when she saw how confused he looked. "It was great to meet you, Peter."

"Wait! Before you leave, I have a question."

"Shoot." Avery said, rolling her eyes when she saw the annoyed look on Clint's face at the delay. "The question of course, not webs."

"Funny. But really, how'd you find me?"

"We're able to find anyone. A kid dressing up like a spider is hardly a challenge for us." Clint answered before Avery could open her mouth to respond.

"If it makes you feel any better, they found me even when I wasn't dressing up and swinging around town."

"No, you were just busy stealing classified intel." Clint said sarcastically, sticking the small dart gun into the holster he had strapped underneath his jacket.

"Stealing is a really harsh word."

"Doesn't change the facts."

"Can I go?" Peter asked, cutting across their conversation before it could go any further.

"Yea. You can go." Clint waved his hand, shooting Avery a look out of the corner of his eyes.

"See you around, Spidey." Avery said, earning a scoff from both Clint and Peter.

"It's Spider-Man, actually." Peter said, kicking his skateboard up into his hand. Avery was impressed at his dexterity, considering he was still recovering from the dart. "And no offense, but I don't really hope to see either of you ever again." He threw his skateboard on the ground and ran along beside it before jumping on it and riding it out of the alley and out of their sights. Avery watched him leave, fully aware of Clint marching off in the direction they had come from and leaving her behind.

"Avery."

She turned on her heel, giving the deserted alley one last glance as she jogged to catch up with Clint. He led her back to where they had been dropped off by a car in front of the high school. It took them about ten minute to get back there, thanks in no small part to the amount of students milling about around the school grounds. Avery instantly felt anxious being around so many people and moved a little faster to catch up with Clint. He was walking with purposeful strides, ignoring the looks they were getting from some of the students. He opened the door to the car for Avery when they got back to it, slipping in behind her and slamming the door shut with a loud snap. The cabin was uncomfortably quiet after that.

The driver, the same one who had dropped them off, drove back in the direction of where the plane had left them, in complete silence.

"You were nice to him." Clint said, breaking the silence after what had felt like an eternity. Avery turned her gaze from the window and onto him, surprised at the manner in which he chose to start a conversation.

"I like to think I'm nice so…"

"You wouldn't even make eye contact with me when we first met." Clint reminded her, pulling off his jacket. The cabin of the car was uncomfortably hot and smelled of sweat.

"Well, you picked the wrong time to introduce yourself." Avery said, peering out at the buildings that they passed by.

"You did well. You were able to control it."

"Peter didn't exactly stress me out."

"Fury will be pleased."

"I guess I passed the test then." Avery leaned back in her seat, resting her head against the leather. Her hair stuck to her neck and to the head rest.

"Solid C+ effort."

"Shut up, Clint." Clint only laughed, allowing the conversation to drop, leaving only a comfortable silence instead. Avery peeked over at him, smirking to herself when she saw that he was still smiling. She supposed that it had been a good day. She had been able to control her abilities, which was something that she normally couldn't guarantee. It caused a small amount of hope to build up within her chest. She was always cautious about being hopeful, however.

She always ended up disappointing herself in the end, so she didn't have much faith that this brief period of control would last. They never did.


	5. Chapter 5

Natasha had certainly seen people who were worse at defending themselves. That being said, she had also seen people who were substantially better than Avery Gudrun. That didn't stop the woman from trying, however, and Natasha found she thought slightly better of her because of it. She had been watching her train for the better part of two hours, with very little improvement, and had decided that physical fighting was not, and would not likely ever be, her strong suit. The blood trickling down her face from both her nose and one of her eyes was enough to indicate as much.

"How long has she been in there?" Natasha asked Agent Coulson, eyeing the scene in front of her wearily. She had long since lost the initial human reaction of cringing when someone took a particularly nasty hit, but she felt, watching Avery, that it might be on the verge of changing. She quickly realized that that was not likely, even with every punch Avery received, and turned to look at Coulson instead.

He had his arms crossed over his chest, watching as Avery was thrown across the room roughly by the instructor. He took a step closer to the glass, a thoughtful expression making its way onto his face. "Almost four hours."

"She doesn't seem to be improving." Natasha observed the sloppy way Avery attempted to block a kick, only to fail spectacularly.

"No. No she does not." Coulson cringed when she was backed into the soft wall at the far side of the room. Both he and Natasha were forced to lean forward slightly in order to see it better, only to lean back when the instructor knocked Avery out cold. "Director Fury seems to think that," He paused, looking away while the instructor patted Avery's cheek until she groggily came to. "Eventually there will be some improvement."

"She was out less that time."

"Little victories, then."

They were silent for a moment, during which they watched as Avery moodily push the instructor's hands out of the way. She struggled to stand up, stumbling over her own feet, before she finally stalked out of the room, completely ignoring the instructor calling her back and the other people training watching her. Natasha noticed that she left a tiny trickle of blood on the ground from her nose as she went.

"I am surprised Fury sent her out on assignment." Natasha could hardly see how she would be ready to do anything slightly helpful. "Also, I am surprised she cooperated enough to go with Barton. She hasn't been very shy with showing her displeasure."

"The threat of lifetime incarceration is a powerful motivator."

Natasha nodded slowly, turning away from the training room entirely. She had seen all she needed to see. She had read the files about Avery Gudrun and she had had some unanswered questions. She wondered why S.H.I.E.L.D. would bother with someone like her. She was unreliable, unpredictable, and most of all, entirely untrained. Now that she had seen her training she realized that even with it there wasn't much hope for her. It was unfortunate that some of the most powerful individuals, powerful being a term that Natasha used lightly, were the ones that had the least amount of control.

"She doesn't quit like that every day." Coulson said, folding his fingers up underneath his chin.

"Has Barton already left?"

"I'm flying out to meet him today. The work on the Tesseract is proceeding faster than expected." Coulson looked at her. "I thought you were leaving yesterday."

"I was, but something came up."

"Something always does. Director Fury is sending her to New Mexico." Coulson put his hands into his suit pants pocket. He didn't seem entirely sure of Fury's decision, but he would never say so. He looked at the door that Avery had stomped through. "She will be leaving with me this afternoon."

"That doesn't seem smart." Natasha said, moving towards the door. She didn't pause to see if Coulson was coming, knowing that he would walk with her regardless. "I've been watching her over the last couple of months and I haven't seen anything to indicate that she has any sort of control over her abilities."

"She has shown some improvement. Dr. Thorne has seen some definite progress with her with her control and…"

"And she is still stealing secrets right and left." Natasha finished for him. It was no secret that Natasha had taken an instant disliking to the woman. She wasn't the only one either. It was inevitable when working in the sort of field that they were. Natasha had more secrets than she could count and there was something about the idea that at any moment Avery could expose all of hers that made her indescribably angry. "I don't trust her and I don't trust her around S.H.I.E.L.D."

"It is better that she is here than anywhere else." Coulson said logically. "She is able to do it through walls now. Imagine the potential for disaster if she were to fall into the wrong hands."

"Yet another reason that she shouldn't be housed here." Natasha snapped, shoving her hands into her leather jacket. "She's evolving."

"She isn't a monkey." Coulson had the slightest bit of humor in his voice. It was quickly squashed by a sharp look from Natasha. "She is becoming more powerful, but that doesn't mean it is a bad thing. She has the potential to be the most powerful and affective interrogator we've ever had. Even you have to see the good in that. You are brilliant, Natasha, but you know as well as I that you have limitations on what you can get out of people. She doesn't."

"It is a bad thing, Phil. We don't know all that she is capable of."

"Which is why it is so important that we got to her before anyone else did." Coulson stopped outside a large steel door with three different sets of locks on it. "We've sent her blood off to be tested but so far we haven't found out anything. It is better that she is here until we know who, or what, she is."

"Have you ever read _The Masque of the Red Death_?" Natasha asked, watching at Coulson leaned forward to show his eye to the retinal scanner. It beeped softly as the fingerprint reader appeared from behind a panel. Coulson placed his hand on it, glancing back over at Natasha.

"Once."

"The prince thought he was doing good by locking them all away from the threat, but in the end he had inadvertently invited it in and it killed them all."

"You are a very morbid person, Natasha."

"I'm realistic." Coulson entered his personal pin number but didn't enter the room when it the large door opened. "And I don't think that in this situation that is a bad thing."

"I'll speak to you when you get back. I'll keep you updated on her progress, if you wish. You should be aware, however, that Director Fury is planning on making her an agent after we see how she performs in New Mexico." Coulson nodded to her once before he turned around and walked down the hallways towards where they kept the agents who were in medical isolation. Avery's room was there, although she wasn't technically a medical patient. Natasha imagined it was because they had the subduing instruments at the ready, should Avery exhibit a new ability that was more dangerous than her other one. The thought that they could put her down easily and effectively, for the time being, gave Natasha the slightest bit of comfort, although she knew it would be short lived.

Avery Gudrun was a liability and no amount of training was going to fix that.

* * *

Avery blotted her nose bitterly, eyeing the pile of bloody tissues on the floor next to her mirror. Her eye was slightly swollen, making it harder for her to glare at her reflection properly, but it didn't stop her from trying. Her instructor, Kass, had been harder on her today than usual. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, which she had told him, and that still hadn't stopped him from insisting that they run the sparring drills again and again. She winced every time she moved, which was unfortunate considering that she was scheduled to leave with Coulson in three hours. Her bags were already packed and she didn't think that claiming an injury would get her out of going with him.

She poked her swollen eye gingerly before she decided it wasn't going to magically heal itself, as much as she wished it would.

"You should seek medical attention before we leave." Avery should have expected that by leaving her door open she would be leaving herself open to forced social interaction. The unexpected presence of Coulson caught her off guard, instantly putting her on edge. She immediately forgot about the pain in her face, choosing instead to focus on not accidentally using her powers on Coulson.

"It doesn't hurt so bad. Just a light throbbing."

"The flight has been moved up. We're leaving now." Coulson said, cutting to chase with her. He was amongst the throngs of agents who tried to get out of her presence as soon as possible. "Are you ready?"

Avery looked down at herself, raising her eyebrows at her sweating training gear. "I guess. If you don't mind smelling my lady funk for the entire trip."

"Let's go, then."

Nothing. Not even a small smile.

"What will I be doing?"

"Interrogations."

"Like what I did to Peter Parker?" Avery asked, remembering how wrong she had felt for doing that to him.

"Similar, yes."

Avery pursed her lips, wishing that Clint would be the one to accompany her. He at least attempted to treat her like she wasn't a glorified lab rat. She stood up and walked over to grab her jacket, wondering if she should express her feelings before she quickly decided against it. She slipped it on and moved to grab her two bags. She went to pick them up, only to be stopped by Coulson.

"Your face is swollen." He said it as if that was an explanation for why he was carrying her bags. She didn't argue, however, and allowed him to lead the way down the medical hallway without any more conversation.

The stoic silence that all the agents treated her to wasn't exactly foreign so she wasn't truly offended. She did find that, after two months, going on three by this point, she wished that just one person wouldn't have read her entire file before meeting her. They were all afraid of her. Well, they weren't afraid of her so much as they were afraid of what she could do and that wasn't something she could change, whether she wanted to or not. Considering her current circumstances she would have gladly gotten rid of her powers for good. That wasn't an option, however, so she had had to force herself to come to terms with her new life of training, tests, and temperamental agents who more akin to enemies than friends.

Maybe it was a good thing. She had never been very good at keeping friends anyway.

* * *

Avery stared at the wall of her bland and depressing bedroom. There were four-hundred and thirteen bricks. She had counted it fifteen times and was halfway through counting them again when the door cracked open. She was surprised to see that it was a man wearing a pair of horn-rimed glasses and a key rather than the usual woman who brought her food. She hadn't spoken to anyone since Coulson had dropped her off a week ago besides the woman who brought her three meals a day and, if she was lucky, a book to read. She had begun to think she had done something wrong by the way she was being held, although nothing immediately came to her mind.

"Get up." The man said, pushing his glasses up on his nose higher.

"Where am I going?" Avery asked, sitting up slowly. "What's going on?"

"Follow me."

Avery peeked around him, tempted to say no until she saw the two guards posted outside her door. She noticed that the man with the key didn't have a gun, which made her even more wary of what was going on. She stood up, throwing on a slouchy sweatshirt as she went, and followed after the man. She didn't understand what was going on, but she knew better than to argue with a man who was accompanied by two marginally more intimidating men with guns.

Avery attempted to be rational by memorizing which way they were leading her by following the hallways with her eyes, just in case she needed to escape, but she quickly gave up on that when she realized they all looked the same. She opened her mouth to ask what was happening when she was stopped by the man with a key holding open a door in front of her. He gestured with one hand for her to go inside without any sort of indication as to what was waiting for her. Avery glanced back at the other two men with the guns. They made up her mind for her by the looks on their faces.

"Ah, Miss Gudrun, welcome. I've been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time." The room was horribly lit and smelled like stale rice. The woman standing next to a large mirror and a bunch of intimidating looking machines hardly noticed, if her odd smile was any indication. "They haven't been treating you very well have they?"

"What?" Avery did not like the look of some of the machines, particularly the one that had electrode like prongs attached to a wire.

"Your face is very bruised."

"Training. At least that's what they've been calling it." Avery folded her arms in front of her chest. "What's going on?"

"Director Fury has requested that we do a bit of controlled testing with your abilities."

"So that's what this is?" Avery instantly felt less anxiety about the men with the guns, although the machines were still not helping her current uneasiness. "Why couldn't I do this where I was?"

"This facility is for research and therefore has the equipment, and incidentally the proper counter measures, to accurately measure what happens when you use your particular abilities." The woman was a bit too excited to run tests on her for her tastes and Avery had taken an instant disliking to her from the look on her face that she didn't think was going to change.

"Shall we begin?"

"What am I doing?" Avery asked, staying rooted to her spot despite the fact that the woman had gestured to a side door that Avery hadn't noticed up until that point.

"Interrogation, with a twist."

"Sounds like a party."

"This way, if you please."

The side room was about as bland as the first and smelled twice as worse. Although, it was added to by the presence of a man who had obviously not showered in week. He looked up at Avery for a brief moment before he let out a loud mocking laugh. He relaxed in his seat, holding his handcuffed hands up behind his head like he owned the place.

"Take a seat." The woman said, gesturing to the chair opposite to the man. Avery wanted to say no. The desire felt like a bit of stomach acid that had come up in her mouth like an odd burning sensation combined with nausea. "Miss Gudrun, sit."

"I'm..."

"I was told that you were difficult."

"I don't want to."

"Sit. Or do I have to call security in?" Security probably mean the men with guns which probably meant that Avery would either end up with more facial bruises, among other places, and a nasty headache to add to the list of injuries that S.H.I.E.L.D. had generously provided her with. "Your petulance is hardly redeeming, Miss Gudrun. You will still be here whether you cooperate or not. Now, i suggest you sit down before I force you to."

The man in the chair laughed even more, making Avery's blood boil. Avery turned to look at him, willing herself to ignore the woman in the lab coat. "Why is he here?"

"That's what your going to find out for us."

Avery was not stupid. As much as people liked to speak to her like she was, she knew that she was far cleverer than most people would bother to give her credit for. She had figured out what was going on about a week into her stay with S.H.I.E.L.D. They wanted to use her. It was the only reason they were bothering to train her as intensely as they were. She imagined if it had been someone else, someone with no power, they would have gotten rid of them a long time ago in ways Avery didn't like to give too much thought.

She clenched her hands into fists and sat down in the chair across from the man, willing herself to do what they told her. For the time being, at least, she could do it. It seemed like the only option she had if she ever wanted to get away from them.

"We will let you know when we have enough data." The woman said, pulling a small machine into the room. She pulled out multiple wires, blue for the man red for her, and began to attach them to Avery's head, arm, and just below her jaw. The woman, seeming entirely too satisfied with herself at getting Avery to listen to her, breezed out of the room, and closed it behind her without saying anything else.

Neither the man nor Avery spoke, at first, making the room uncomfortably quiet in the absence of the other woman.

"You look like a prostitute that made her pimp mad." The man said after a moment, seeming to think that it would bother her and give him the upper hand. Avery wasn't entirely sure where he was getting the prostitute impression from. She was wearing her usual outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair was up, which she admitted made her facial bruises look worse. She hardly thought prostitute was the correct term, however. Sad-sack kidnap victim seemed more appropriate. Avery smirked to herself and pulled up her shirt to her neck and zipped up her sweatshirt, choosing to ignore such comments from that point onwards.

"I got a bit mouthy." He snorted, glaring at her in a manner that Avery assumed was supposed to make her feel intimidated. "Is that what happened to you?"

"What are you on about?"

"Did you piss off your pimp?" Avery fought the urge to flinch when he stood up angrily, slamming his fists on the table.

"Shut up, bitch."

"I was just curious. There's no need to get angry, Mr…" She trailed off, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn't bother. He flexed his bloodied knuckles, glaring at her so thoroughly lines etched into his dirty face. "You don't want to talk?"

"Go to hell."

"Look, I want out of here as much as you and I'd prefer to do that without having to use my powers. So spill."

"Do what you want. I'm ain't going to tell you shit."

"Fine. Asshole." Avery stood up, shooting a glare at the glass for good measure. The move set the man on guard for the first time. He eyed her with a look of confusion on his face. She would be a bit alarmed if their roles had been reversed. She had been practicing, however, and felt no apprehension this time around. She stood next to him, extending her hands out so that they hovered over his bare arms.

"What are you doing?"

"Shhh." Avery snapped, closing her eyes in order to concentrate better.

"I'm terrified that my mother will find out that I'm a murderer and a thief."

Avery's eyes snapped open. "That can't be it."

"What the hell?"

"I'll try again."

"Fuc…"

She interrupted him by placing her cool hands on his rough arms. She was thankful that he was handcuffed; she was certain he would have been currently attempting to strangle her otherwise. He didn't seem like the type of man who liked being touched. She concentrated all of her powers into her hands, feeling an odd buzzing sensation accumulating in her fingers that she had come to associate with when she used her powers more forcefully.

"We were just trying to hide the body. We didn't think anybody would be out here."

Avery removed her hands. "That's it?"

"What?"

"I thought there would be something more, I don't know, illegal. Foreign government espionage and what not."She had thought, in the brief moment that she had contemplated it, that this man might have done something highly illegal and much shadier, relatively speaking, than dumpling a body. It had nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. The idea made her even angrier. "They dragged me all the way out here for this. What crap. I mean, you would think they would at least pretend to give me rights."

"Do you think I care?" The man asked, looking down at his handcuffs.

"We're done."

"Get the hell away from me, freaky bitch."

"I was planning on i..."

Avery was cut off by a siren that reverberated through the small room so loudly she thought her ears might explode. The man instantly started looking around in alarm, slamming his handcuffed hands onto the table violently. He yelled at the people on the other side of the glass, jerking his hands in a way that Avery thought would leave bruises. Avery hardly cared, however, entirely too focused on figuring out what was happening. She could hear shouts, all frantic sounding, in the area around the small research interrogation room.

Avery looked around, wondering what exactly she should do. Of all the things S.H.I.E.L.D. had trained her for, this certainly wasn't one that was included. As ironic as that was to her.


	6. Chapter 6

Avery Gudrun had always considered herself to be an opportunist. When she was six and her school was selling candy as a fundraiser she had convinced her mother to let her go to a local nursing home to sell. It had just so happened that Avery had broken her leg the week before. The elderly had taken pity on her and bought all of her candy. It was convenient and Avery wasn't going to say anything to the contrary. She felt that her current situation was much the same.

Only, this time the candy was the possibility of escape and the elderly were the sirens giving her that opportunity.

Avery skidded down the hallway ungracefully, bouncing off people and the walls as she struggled to make it out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base alive. Initially, the sirens hadn't seemed so bad. Maybe just a fire drill, she had thought. She had quickly realized that it was much more than a fire drill when the researchers had burst into the interrogation room. The looks on their faces told her that she should be very concerned about the sirens so she had begun to panic. They had told her to stay with them while they evacuated, as if she was going to listen to them. She took the first opportunity she could find to slip away from them, although she wasn't entirely sure where she was planning on going.

This was the first time she was on her own, without the usual guard posted outside her door or the agents constantly watching her every move. She was just one of the evacuating masses and that felt indescribably good as odd as that seemed considering the current circumstances.

People were shouting at each other and holding expensive looking pieces of equipment that Avery would bet her life were worth more than the entire state of Rhode Island. They certainly mattered more than she did. The people carrying them hardly paid any attention to her as she ran in the direction she hoped would lead her outside and away from what was happening in the facility. It didn't bother her that they didn't pay attention to her. In fact, it was quite the opposite. She didn't think she would be responsible for her powers at this exact moment and she could feel them nagging at the edge of her brain. She could feel them spreading out into the hallway around her, coating all the people. It would be better if the didn't know who was causing them to suddenly feel the need to tell the people around them all of their secrets.

Avery avoided making eye contact with every person she passed by. She just knew that one of them was going to recognize her and insist that she be escorted by an armed guard. She let her hair fall in front of her face, hoping that she would be able to move quickly enough for them not to notice where the funny feelings washing over them were coming from.

She walked at a controlled pace, so as to not look so suspicious, but burst out into a full out run when the floor shook beneath her.

"Everyone out!"

Avery didn't need to be told twice. She elbowed past a pair of youthful looking men, each larger than a truck, so that she could run through the door without being caught up in the throngs of people trying to leave the facility. They were panicked, which was making her more panicked. There was something very big going on and Avery had decided that she officially no longer wanted any part of it. S.H.I.E.L.D. was on her shit list. They had earned themselves an eternal spot, as far as she was concerned, and getting out this facility and their grasp couldn't come soon enough.

"Quickly! Move!"

The walls were beginning to crack around her. Large chunks of drywall fell to the floor and shattered at her feet, sending white flecks of paint and dust all over her black boots. People were being hit with the pieces, although Avery didn't stop to see if they were hurt. She didn't know them and she couldn't help but lump them with the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. bigwigs who had unceremoniously locked her up for months on end.

"Somebody stop her!"

Avery glanced back over her shoulder sharply at the sound of the voice. It was the researcher and she looked very angry. Avery had learned over the last months that S.H.I.E.L.D. was very serious when it came to their investments. And Avery was an investment. She knew that there was no other way to describe it. They spent too much time on her; too much energy trying to teach her to control her abilities like it would eventually matter to them. She supposed she shouldn't have ripped off the wires they had attached to her like they were burning and run out of the testing room as soon as she heard the siren. That made her seem flighty and she didn't think this sort of organization did well with unpredictable subjects.

They would be right to assume she was, however. She had been stewing about how they had treated her for months. It started gnawing at her shorty after she returned from her brief mission with Clint Barton. There was something about being forced to use her powers on a teenager that didn't sit well with her, leaving her less than enthused towards the bully-like organization.

"Watch it!" Avery glanced back at the small woman she had run into but didn't bother stopping. People were beginning to act foolishly, which surprised Avery. These people were supposed to be composed in these sorts of situations.

"Stop her!" People around Avery looked back and forth between the researcher and her. Some seemed tempted to listen, others seemed more concerned with getting out. That was Avery's general attitude, which is why she slipped out of the nearest door and out of sight of the researcher before someone could grab her.

She was in a stairwell that only led upward. Not exactly what she had been looking for but she would take it. She took the stairs two at a time, only tripping once, until she came to another door that looked like it might lead her out of the facility. The floor shook violently without warning, sending her to the floor unceremoniously. Her hipbone cracked on the hard ground painfully, causing her to cry out over the sound of the siren. She wrapped her hands around it for a moment, grimacing at the pain. She wanted to stay there for a little while, just long enough for her hip to stop throbbing, but she was shaken from those thoughts by the floor underneath her cracking in two. She immediately shot up, doing her best to avoid putting too much weight on her hip, and hobbled out the door before something worse could happen.

It slammed open louder than she anticipated, making her jump. It led to an open courtyard in the facility, surrounded by buildings that were all trembling. The sides of them were cracked and crumbling. That was not something she had expected to see. She moved away from the building she had escaped from, looking around for a place to go. It would help her to be better able to handle this sort of crisis if she knew anything about where she was. She had only been in two rooms in the last couple of days and knew nothing of the facility. She had tried to glean some information from the people who brought her food, using her abilities and otherwise, but they had net been able to tell her much than that it was located somewhere in the New Mexican desert. That didn't help her much, at all really. There could be no place to go besides blistering expanses of sand and starvation for all she knew.

Avery glanced around her, wheezing heavily. There was dust kicked up all around her from the evacuation making it even harder for her to breathe. People were running towards a large parking lot to the far side of Avery, shouting things at each other the whole way. Vehicles were backed up, their back doors thrown open so that more people could jump in faster and more efficiently. That was the direction she figured she should go, the direction that would be the easiest.

She should go that way, but she didn't.

Instead, she hobbled towards the other end, the one that looked like it led out towards a vast expanse of land and away from all the scurrying S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Avery moved towards that direction before anyone could stop her. And they would stop her if they could. She ran without giving it much more thought. She wasn't going to let them take her this time around. Not when she could avoid it.

* * *

"How exactly is it that you let Avery Gudrun escape?" Nick Fury's arm was paining him horribly and his back hurt worse than ever. Then there was the added headache, if something so mild could describe it, of Loki and the tesseract. And of course, Erik Selvig and Agent Barton. Now there was the subject of one Avery Gudrun. She had been causing him trouble from the moment Jane Foster reported her and it didn't seem as if that was going to stop any time soon. He turned his anger and annoyance towards the woman. He had been planning on using her for field work up until she had managed to slip away without anyone noticing before it was too late. "Answer me, Dr."

"Well, Sir, it happened in the evacuation." The Doctor, a researcher he had assigned to administer Avery Gudrun's final set of tests, shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "We tried to keep track of her, but in all the chaos…"

"All the chaos." Director Fury glared at the Doctor with his good eye. "Your excuse for losing one of the most valuable and volatile assets this organization has ever come across is chaos."

"Yes, but…"

"Dr. are you aware that Avery Gudrun was dangerous before we came across her?"

"Yes Sir…"

"And you are aware, more so than anybody else, what she can do?"

"I am." The Doctor could hardly make eye contact with him.

"Then perhaps you would like to come up with a better excuse than the damn chaos." Director Fury slammed the file he had been holding down onto the table. The Doctor jumped, face twitching slightly.

"Sir, I can assure you that my team did all we would to recover Miss Gudrun during the evacuation."

"You followed the book?"

"Yes sir."

Fury leveled her with a withering glare. She seemed to shrink under his gaze, looking as if she wanted nothing more than to run from the room with her tail between her legs. As if was, she sat down in the chair heavily, holding her hands in her lap. They trembled and were horrendously pale. Fury eyed them for a moment before turning his attention back to her panicky face. "That is your first problem, Dr. She was never going to follow our rules."

"I do not follow."

"To put it plainly. People like Avery Gudrun live to spit in the coffee of the agencies that try to keep them under control." Fury folded his arms across his chest. "She was waiting for the perfect opportunity to escape and you gave her one."

"I…"

"Reconnaissance teams are already sweeping the desert for her now. We do not expect that she will have gone very far. You got lucky this time, Dr."

"It won't happen again, Director Fury." The Doctor seemed relieved to hear that Avery Gudrun was not gone forever. She cracked a small smile as she smoothed her skirt down over her knees. It was a motion that represented ease.

"I know it won't. I'm transferring her out of your division." Fury moved to walk out of the room, pausing only to give the Doctor one final parting message. "The time for training games and experiments is over, Doctor. We are at war and you let one of our most valuable assets slip through your fingers. We cannot afford mistakes like that. Not now."

* * *

"Do you have her test results back?" Darcy looked at her nails, ignoring the beeping in the background of the makeshift lab. Jane didn't seem to mind the setup S.H.I.E.L.D. had given them after the incident with Thor, but Darcy did. There wasn't anybody but Jane to talk to and lately all she could talk about was her experiments. Jane didn't respond, not that Darcy expected her to. Jane had had her eyes pushed into her microscope for the last three hours and didn't show any signs of resurfacing anytime soon. "Janey." Darcy stood up, dropping her nail file onto the sanitized lab table. "Jane. Jane Elise Foster."

"This is fascinating." Jane murmured, a smile on her face.

Darcy rolled her eyes. She was hardly surprised that Jane was ignoring her. She was in one of her 'sciencey' moods. They had been happening more since Thor had left, although this instance was longer than others. Jane had been sitting in the same spot for the last three days and she was starting to smell, as Darcy had told her numerous times. She also hadn't been eating with the same consistency, which had started to affect Darcy. They ate their meals together. At least, they ate their meals together because Jane always paid.

"Darcy, come look at this." Jane finally looked up. She pushed her hair out of her face, sweeping it into a tight pony tail. Darcy thought it was better that way; it hid the grease better, not that Jane noticed. Jane rubbed her eyes as she stepped back to allow Darcy to look through the microscope. "I've never seen anything like it."

Darcy was sure she wouldn't have either, but she imagined that had a slightly different meaning to Jane.

Darcy had to look at it for approximately ten seconds before she confirmed what she had originally thought. They were nothing but squiggles that had some scientific name that Darcy didn't think she would ever bother to learn. Apparently, the squiggles were important. "What am I looking at?" Darcy asked, readjusting her glasses. She pretended to be genuinely interested. Jane only bought that from Darcy when she was so caught up in her experiments. Normally, Jane would roll her eyes and return to her work, muttering something snide under her breath. "Is that her blood?"

"Yes." Jane said, seeming a bit too excited about blood for Darcy's tastes. "Now look at this." Her hands were shaking with excitement as she fingered through the little boxes of slides. Darcy watched her, wondering if she should have forced Jane to leave the lab and breathe fresh air at some point.

"Look, look at the white blood cells."

"I don't know how to tell them apart, Jane. I was a poli-sci major." Darcy said, noticing how Jane's eye twitched slightly when she reminded her that her assistant knew about as much about science as she did about poli-sci, which was a depressing amount, despite the fact that she had spent four years studying it. "I'm going to take a guess though and say that their good."

"No. Well yes, medically speaking white blood cells are good in the right numbers, but no not in this instance." Darcy fixed her glasses again, feeling her eyes start to take on the glazed look that she usually sported whenever Jane started speaking in terms of science. "Never mind." Jane pulled Darcy away from the microscope so that she could look at it again. "The count isn't just what I'm talking about. The count is much higher than normal but there's something else." She put the first slide back into place. "The shape. Look at the shape."

Darcy humored Jane, mostly in an attempt to get out of the lab faster. Jane had received the blood samples she had asked from Avery Gudrun, or the personal boundary crosser as Darcy thought of her, and hadn't stopped looking at them since. They were starting to excite Jane but Darcy wasn't so sure what she should be getting excited squiggly shapes were still squiggly and the blood was still bloody. Truly it was odd to her that Jane was doing these sort of experiments. Physics was her thing, Darcy thought. The blood samples gave her something to do, however, so she didn't think Jane was going to be too picky.

"You'll have to explain it to me. And use normal people words. I understand Erik isn't here to talk about this with so I'll have to do, but try not to melt my brain."

"The second slide was a sample of my blood."

"Gross."

"The first is the sample that S.H.I.E.L.D. borrowed from Avery Gudrun."

"Stole."

"Darcy, you don't understand. However you want to describe this, it's huge! The first blood sample doesn't match the second." Jane said, gesturing to the sample slides of blood.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, one sample of blood is human and the other is," Jane paused, holding up the blood samples next to each other for Darcy to see. "Well, that's just it, isn't it? I don't know what the other is."


	7. Chapter 7

Water was a seriously underrated privilege, in Avery's opinion. Her throat was so dry it felt like it was bleeding and her nose was so crusty from all the sand caked to it she was certain breathing was going to become a luxury if she didn't find a way out of the desert soon.

She wiped her forehead, digging her fingers up to her hairline underneath her makeshift head wrap. It was supposed to keep her cooler, but at this point she thought that was total horse shit. She was overheating like a sinner in church. Avery had had just about enough of the sun for a lifetime and could think of nothing else but what she wouldn't do for a little bit of shade and a bucket of ice water to stick her head in.

In addition to the heat and intensity of the sun, her hip was paining her horribly. Walking was practically agony for her. She had tried crawling before she realized it burned her hands too much and imbedded little pebbles into her palms like tiny knives. She was now forced to hobble along like an eighty year-old woman who just had a hip replacement.

All in all, her situation was about the worst she could think of and she had only been on her own for about eleven hours.

She imagined Director Fury would be positively beaming when he found out that she couldn't last ten minutes on her own without burning to a crisp in the New Mexican desert. Or that might have been a mirage. Either way, she scowled the whole way. Wandering around aimlessly did have its benefits, however small and insignificant as they may be. She was given plenty of time to think, even if she didn't really have much to think about beyond why S.H.I.E.L.D. got her panties in a twist like no one, person or otherwise, had before.

She was angry. That's the emotion she had decided on about an hour after the facility collapsed. The nerve of them, really. The nerve of them thinking that it was okay to drag her all over creation only to end up putting her life at risk by keeping her in the basement of a facility that was, apparently, prone to collapsing. She could have died. And for what? Nothing, as far as she could see.

Avery kicked the nearest rock into a shrub, instantly regretting it as she did. The motion caused her hip to spasm, the tightening of the muscle sending her stumbling into a particularly spikey bush.

"Son of a…" She bit her lip.

More insult to her injury, she supposed.

She looked down at her arm and cursed under her breath at the sight of the angry red scratches that the bush had just caused, blood oozing out of each, the dust and dirt in the air making them sting horribly.

"Perfect. This is just perfect." She looked down at her body, taking in an inventory of the clothing she still had and let out an annoyed sigh. Her jacket was already wrapped around her head haphazardly, leaving her with only her thin shirt. Seeing no other option, she gingerly pulled it over her head. She was left in nothing but her bra, although that didn't bother her too much. It wasn't like the buzzards would care. She wrapped the shirt around her scratched arm, hissing to herself at the sting, before she tied it off the best she could. "I'll probably bleed out before I get to any sort of humanity. That would make Fury happy."

She tried to move forward, only to stop when she realized she wasn't make any real progress. The desert was still as deserty as it had been eleven hours ago and she had accomplished nothing beyond dehydrating herself.

Avery stood for a while, thinking.

She considered the idea of going back to the facility. People were most likely still working on cleaning it up, at least she hoped they were. The idea of an air conditioned car and a nice tall glass of water was almost enough to make her reconsider her principles on the matter of the situation. Almost, being the key word to her. She felt her stubbornness rearing its ugly head when she thought about groveling, and groveling was the correct word, to the people who had kept her hostage.

At the moment, she would rather burn to a crisp.

She started marching again, alternating between stomping angrily and shuffling when her hip was in too much pain for another hour, or it could have been two. She wasn't really sure anymore.

"What the hell are you doing, girl?"

Avery almost screamed at the sound of the voice. It came out of nowhere, throwing her out of her rhythm. She was perfectly happy to think that she would be alone with her thoughts for a few hours without interruption. It was too good to be true. Even in a desert it seemed she was doomed to constantly be around people. This particular human was about as withered as they come and armed. He was pointing a shotgun at her, the nose shaking in a way that instantly made panic spring up in her chest.

She didn't like feeling panicked. It made her feel like she lost all control of everything about her and the world around her. She could feel her self-control slipping the moment the man came out of nowhere, threatening to spill out and make the entire situation worse. He seemed like the type of man that wasn't too fond of sharing his secrets and she certainly didn't want to be the one to find out if she was right.

"Answer me, girl. I'm not in the habit of repeating myself."

"I'm walking." Avery said, sidestepping slightly so that her lower half was concealed by a nearby scrub brush. Some of the long branched stabbed her thighs, but she didn't notice. "What are you doing?"

"I'll be the one asking the questions." He raised the gun even higher, the nose now pointed at her shoulder instead of her stomach. She raised her hands instantly, waving them around as a form of surrender.

"Right, of course."

"This is private property and I don't take to kindly to back alley whores walking around like they own the place."

Avery's mouth fell open. She quickly closed it when she realized it might have confirmed what he had just called her. "I'm not a…"

"Who else would wear nothing but her undies in a desert? What are you trying to do, see what you'll die of first; heat stroke or sun poisoning?"

Avery looked down at herself, realization dawning on her. She supposed she did look a little tawdry, with her bra and black pants. But then again, she didn't see how it was any of his business what she chose to wear in the first place. "I was in an accident and have been looking for some sort of civilization for hours."

"You one of them government folks?"

Avery narrowed her eyes at him, bending down a little bit so that more of her was covered by the bush. "Are you?"

She was absolutely tempted to use her powers on him. He wasn't the type of person that she would feel too bad about later when she had time to reflect, not like Peter Parker. She didn't however, when she reminded herself, once again, that he was pointing a gun at her. Shakily, she might add.

"No."

"Good." Avery said, letting out a tiny breath. "That's good. I'm not either, so hey, that means we're practically the same."

"I'm not you, girlie, and you aren't me." He finally lowered his gun so that it wasn't actively threatening her life. She took that as a sign that the man was warming up to her. "For goodness sake, cover yourself up before you turn redder than a lobster."

"I cut my arm."

"And the best solution you could come up with was the strip down to your skivvies." Avery couldn't help but admire his talent for sarcasm.

"Yes. I was always an excellent problem solver in school."

"And that's where you peaked." The man threw his gun over his shoulder, a very unhappy look on his face. "You might as well come with me. My old lady would kill me if she found out I let some wayward woman rot out in here."

"You're married?" Avery asked, pulling her jacket off her head. She had to force the sleeve over her shirt, which caused her cut to flare up again.

"Of course, a catch like me." Avery's mouth set into a straight line. The man was no longer pointing the gun at her and he wasn't nearly as surly as Director Fury so she didn't think he could be so bad. There was the fact that he kept implying she was the sort to provide temporary companionship, but she thought she could let that slide if he was willing to give her a bit of fresh water and a vehicle to get her to the nearest bank so she could access some of her money. Then she would be on her way to the nearest nation that didn't believe in expediting. The Dominica Republic, maybe. She had always wanted to live on a beach. "What's your name, girl?"

"Avery."

"I prefer girl. Let's go."

* * *

"That business at the base caused me such a fright. It's amazing you weren't hurt."

Maude Loomis was chatty. She hadn't stopped gabbing at Avery since the moment she walked through their door with her husband, Bill. Avery didn't mind, per say, but she wasn't exactly fond of the direction the conversation was taking. She had been able to convince them that she was in a small single man airplane accident, not one of her more stellar lies, and was in need of a bit of assistance.

"Smoke, filling the sky like the Lord Himself is sending us a message." Maude wiped the sweat from her brow and took a large sip from her sweet tea. "Is that what brought your plane down?"

Avery looked up at her, trying to hide the surprised look on her face. Aviation might not have been her best alibi, considering she didn't know the first thing about it. She tacked on her most charming smile and tried to best to think of something that sounded intelligent. "Yes. The smoke filled up my intake valve and caused an engine malfunction." Total crap, but it sounded believable, she hoped.

"Poor dear." Maude smiled at her in a motherly way that made Avery instantly uncomfortable. "Thank goodness my Bill found you."

"He was very sweet."

"Sweet as ice cream on a hot day, he is." Maude smiled even wider when she spoke about her husband. Bill, who had disappeared suspiciously soon after he had taken Avery to the Loomis' small home, did not seem like the type of man who married a woman like Maude. Avery was trying not to judge, but it was hard for her. In fact, that sort of thing was always hard for her. "I'm sorry I didn't have anything else that would fit you. You're just as skinny as pole."

Maude had been slipping comments in like that for the entire duration of the visit. Truthfully, Avery was only a fraction smaller than she had been when S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken her. She still liked to think she was on the curvier side. Compared to Maude, however, she was positively skeletal. There was the judgment, and she instantly pushed those thoughts back and forced herself to smile at the woman.

"This is more than fine. It's more than you had to do." Avery held the loose fabric of the muumuu up and tried not to pay attention to the bright pattern. "I really appreciate it."

"Think nothing of it." Maude added a bit more tea to her glass and squeezed a bit of lemon in before taking a long sip. "It's been ages since I had a visitor. I'm just happy you're here."

Avery was too, despite everything. Maude and Bill were very normal, very unassuming people. She liked how mundane they were, how simple. No secret superpowers, or murder secrets, or life altering revelations up their sleeves. When they weren't armed, and she was thinking of Bill pointedly, they were about as stressful as a kitten. Her powers hadn't threatened to come out once while with them and for that she was thankful. She was almost considering asking them if she could stay the night and leave in the morning, just to enjoy their carefree presence a little bit longer.

The headache that she had had for months felt like it was finally beginning to slip away and she felt oddly light at the moment. Even the enormous muumuu wasn't weighing her down.

"Me too. This ice tea is delicious."

"Enough flattery. Tell me about yourself. A pretty girl like you spend her free time flying and has manners to boot. Your momma and daddy sure did right by you."

Her accent was especially thick and made Avery think of her teacher Mrs. Hibley.

Avery shook her head. No pressure, no panic, no stress.

She had to remind herself of that and keep her thoughts on everyday things. Maude was very nice and Avery would hate to have that ruined by her powers and their tendency to ruin people for her.

"My mom was always very fond of manners."

"Southern, I expect."

"I'm not really sure. She never told me and I never thought to ask. We did spend a lot of time moving around New Mexico and Texas."

"So a southern girl, raised with manners, and likes to fly planes. Is there a man in the picture?"

Avery couldn't help but laugh. She had only interacted with four men on a regular basis as of late. The first was Director Fury. She didn't think he had a romantic bone in her body. She moved on from those thoughts rather quickly as they threatened to make her giggle like an idiot. The next was her S.H.I.E.L.D. therapist, Dr. Fitz. He was handsome, in a super smart and clinical sort of way, but he had the tendency to make her uncomfortable, so he was out. The third was her trainer, who she never really got around to learning his name. He was all muscle. She thought even his fingers were ripped. He was out just because he had punched her in the face one too many times for her to think of him in any sort of romantic capacity. The last was the most plausible. Clint Barton was handsome, and nice in his own way, and didn't actively hate her.

He worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and that meant he was out in her mind, however.

"Nope. No man. Do you know any?"

"Just my William. And he likes his women a bit thicker." Avery did her best not to show her revulsion at the thought. "Speaking of William, where is that man?"

Now that she was focusing on it, Avery was suddenly aware of a soft murmuring in a farther part of their house. He was on the phone. She looked back at Maude, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. She leaned back in her chair, trying to hear what he was saying without being too obvious to Maude. The other woman had taken on a very nervous look on her face and moved away from the table. She was standing at one of their cracked purple cabinet, rummaging around noisily.

At the sound of the phone clicking in the other room, she stopped.

Avery felt a knot settle in her stomach.

"Do you want a sandwich? Bologna, Kraft American Singles, and Mayo is the house specialty."

"Who was Bill talking to?" Avery asked, leaning back until she was only on two legs.

"My brother." Bill said from behind Avery, sending her crashing to the floor in surprise. "He's just bought a new irrigation system."

"Oh, William, I was just making sandwiches." Maude was speaking very squeakily and loudly, despite the fact that they were both within spitting distance of her.

Avery pulled herself up, eyes flicking back and forth between the couple. Perhaps she was reading too much into it. They were too nice to be involved with the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Or perhaps they were just the type. Either way, Avery took a few steps towards the door, all her pleasant thoughts about the visit evaporating instantly.

"Oh, dear. Where are you going?" Maude's upper lip was sweating more than before. "You're all skin and bones. Come and sit for a while." Avery's suspicions were confirmed, much to her dismay, when she saw Maude setting out two plates.

One for her, one for Bill, none for Avery.

"I really have to go." She stuttered. Her brain was swimming and buzzing. She clenched her hands together against the fabric of the dress, digging her dirty nails into the meat of her palm. "I have to report my cras…"

Avery felt a little bit of blood in spring up under her fingernails when there was a loud knock at the door.

"About damn time." Bill walked his way over to the door, bowlegged as ever, and opened it with a bang.

Avery sunk behind a little cutout in their kitchen and looked around for her shoes. She would need them when she ran. She sank down to hands and knees and started crawling forward as carefully as possible, doing her best to make no noise.

"Where is she?"

Avery didn't recognize that voice. It made her crawl faster. She could see her dirt covered boots in the corner next to the back door that Bill had originally walked her through. Her socks were there too. And her jacket. Everything she would need except water to make a break for it. Her arm and hip twanged, almost forcing her to cry out. She bit down on the neckline of the muumuu, pointedly ignore the smell of White Diamond, and continued on with her baby crawl.

"Right over there."

"Miss Gudrun, show yourself."

Avery did not do as she was told. She continued on at a much faster pace, pushing aside the little ceramic statues that were in her way.

"Why are you crawling away in a circus tent?"

Maude gave an affronted noise that was instantly quieted by one of the numerous S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that had shown up. She couldn't help but think that Director Fury put forth a lot of effort where she was concerned and had yet to receive any payouts. She was planning on keeping it that way.

"How many are there?" Avery asked, not looking back as she continued crawling.

"More than you."

"I gathered that." She slipped behind the couch and dared to peek back at them.

There were eight of them, all wearing black bullet proof vests that looked extraordinarily hot. The one in the front seemed to be in charge. Maybe his jawline had gotten him the job. Avery wasn't intimidated. She was beyond that with them. Now that she had been seen and seen them she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest obstinately. The muumuu was so large it slipped off her shoulder and revealed one of her sweat-stained bra straps. Normally, she would be embarrassed for eight men, and a half if she counted Bill, to see her in such a state.

"Am I to assume Nick sends his regards?"

She walked over to the door to grab her boots and jacket. She chanced a glance out of the glass window in the door and instantly regretted it. There was a man with a gun aimed right at her. She stepped back, tripping over the other shoes. She managed to right herself before she fell again.

"Get your shoes on." The man with the spectacular jaw said, moving closer to her. "We're already behind thanks to you and your little stunt."

"It wasn't really a stunt." Avery said, refusing to put on her shoes. "It was pretty cut and dry. I was tired of your bullshit so I left. Plain and simple." She paused and looked around the man towards Maude. "Sorry for the language."

"Think nothing of it dear." She was holding a dish towel to her chest and looked liable to pass out at any moment.

"Whatever Fury wants you can tell him I refuse." She glared at the man with all the venom she could muster.

"Not an option." He grabbed her shoulder roughly and began to pull her towards the other door, her boots completely forgotten.

"Well, I say it is."

"I will sedate you, if needed Miss Gudrun."

"Go for it, Jay Leno." She tried to shrug out of his grip only to have him tighten it. "That's the only way you're going to get me to cooperate."

"Rumlow, they want to know how far out we are. They're planning to launch at any moment."

Rumlow. The name suited him. "Tell them we have the subject."

"Oh, no you don't."

"How up to date are you on your Norse mythology?" Rumlow asked, snapping his fingers at one of his men. The man stepped forward, holding out a very large and very intimidating looking needle. That gave her pause. Not enough for her to willing jump back to S.H.I.E.L.D., however. She squirmed harder.

"I think you need to get you ears checked, buddy, because you are clearly not hearing a word I'm saying to you."

"Director Fury will debrief you more once we arrive. For now, I suggest you save your energy. From what I understand, you're going to need it."

The man placed the needle in Rumlow's hand.

"I'm not going to do it. I refuse."

"We didn't ask."

Avery felt a prick of pain for a moment before she face-planted on the linoleum floor, blackness overcoming her despite her best efforts to stay awake.


	8. Chapter 8

The lights above her were mocking her. Laughing, or something like that. She wasn't entirely sure. She tried to move her arm to shield her eyes, only to discover that it felt like lead, weighing her down. Avery struggled three more times before she became frustrated and gave up trying to move them and moved her attention towards wiggling her toes and fingers instead. It wasn't working. Nothing was working and she was more upset than she had ever been in her entire life.

"Wake her up."

A hand on her neck, pressing against her pulse point, gave her a bit more awareness. It was cold in the room and smelled of rubbing alcohol that burned her nose. Avery tried to move again, feeling her frustration mounting with each passing moment of paralysis.

"It isn't safe."

"What do you mean?"

More hands were on her body, some rougher than others. There was one pair that lingered on her hip, probing it in a way that would have received a slap if she had been able to move.

"Her hip is less inflamed. She should be able to walk without issue when she wakes up."

"Her heart rate is increasing."

"Wake her up, Doctor."

"I just said it isn't safe. She could go into shock."

"Then it's a very good thing she's in a room full of highly trained medical professionals, isn't it? Do it."

Avery heard the sound of what she assumed was her heart rate monitor increasing as she started becoming more and more aware of her surroundings. The hands stopped touching her shortly before she felt a small prick in her neck. This needle was larger than the last, which had been smaller than a sewing needled, and went deep into her neck, catching her in the relaxed muscles. She instantly tensed as the medicine, whatever it was, burned her.

It felt like fire coursing through her body, painfully forcing feeling and movement back into all of her limbs. Her muscles began to twitch horribly, the spasms so violent they threatened to make her fall off the table. She was caught by a pair of arms around her upper thighs. They positioned her back on the table; holding onto her legs in what she assumed was supposed to be a comforting way. It wasn't. In fact, it made her panic even more. She didn't know who these people were, these people with the needles, and she was scared. She couldn't even open her eyes to see what was going on. She was blind and unable to move and her body hurt.

"Movement is returning to her lower extremities. Bind her legs for her own safety."

"Rumlow used too much."

"Her skin is burning up. Body temperature at 100.6 and climbing."

"Neural activity increasing."

Avery felt tears slipping out of the corner of her eyes. She didn't understand what she had done, why she was here. She didn't know where she was and that added to her fear tenfold. The medicine that put fire in her veins and muscles settled into a slow simmer, working its way through her entire body until she wanted to scream at the pain.

"How long is it until she's fully functioning?" Avery learned to hate the owner of that voice rather quickly. "We need her."

"You should have thought of that before you pumped not one, but two experimental drugs into her system in a span of twelve hours after she spent upwards of half a day wandering around in the sun without water or food." There was a metallic banging.

"The Director ordered us to use any means necessary to ensure Avery Gudrun returned safely and ready to assist in whatever way we need her to."

"This isn't what I consider safe. She's on seizure watch. Tell the Director she isn't going anywhere, or doing anything, until I deem her well enough."

"Who do you…"

"I'm in charge of her wellbeing; something guaranteed is at risk. That's who I am. Now get out."

Avery could barely hear the sound of a door slamming shut mingled with angry words from the Doctor. He mumbled under his breath, moving closer to her. She could feel his warmth as he leaned over her to check the monitors. His hand pressed just under her chin, one finger pressing over the puncture wound from the needle. "Sorry bunch of bastards." Avery couldn't agree more. She wished she could have nodded her agreement, or expressed her thanks for the way the Doctor cared for her, but she couldn't do either. She couldn't do anything, really, beyond trying to stop the moisture from welling out of her eyes and spilling onto the metal table.

She wasn't doing a very good job.

"She'll be awake soon."

She was already awake, even if they didn't know it. She half wondered if they were purposely ignoring the way her eyes twitched behind her lids, or if they were just more concerned with other things. The Doctor didn't seem like an idiot, or inconsiderate for that matter, but that didn't change the fact that he got his orders from Fury, or someone that took their orders from Fury. She didn't trust any of them farther than she could throw them and that was magnified when it involved needles and drugs that made her skin feel like it was sloughing off.

Ten minutes on the exam table felt like ten hours so it felt like an eternity before someone cracked open one of her eyes and shined a bright light in them. The room was stark white accented with metal. The machines that she could see, the most intimidating ones that hung from the ceiling, were beeping and covered in little lights that showed they were on. She could barely make out the tubes that were attached to her body somewhere before the person took the light away and closed her eye, throwing her back into darkness.

"My mother doesn't know I steal from her wallet every time I go home." If she could do more than groan, she would have. "She thinks she's starting to develop memory problems and I don't have it in me to tell her otherwise."

"My little brother is a thief. He's currently serving 10 years without parole."

"That's a shame."

"It really is. But the bright side is that I'm officially the family favorite."

Avery struggled to stop things from getting any worse. She tried to pull it back, to reel it in so that she was controlling it, but it didn't really work. She could feel it getting away from her, like she was trying to hold water in her hands but it was just seeping out faster and faster.

"I've never been the family favorite. It might have to do with how honest I get after a few drinks. I'm a mean drunk."

"Better that than a weepy one."

Avery almost jumped for joy, if she could have, when she was finally able to move her hands and feet. She would have been able to move more if she wasn't strapped down. She balled her hands into fists and worked on being able to open her eyes. She didn't know why they felt so heavy.

"I talk to my cat like she's a person when I'm drunk. One time I kissed her and didn't even feel bad about it the next morning."

Avery had had enough. She forced herself to tear open her eyes, ignoring the flash of pain and turned her head to look at the Doctor and his nursing staff. They were all staring at her with surprised expressions on their faces. Apparently, she was ahead of schedule. She didn't care for their schedule, she decided. She tried to sit up, only to have a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down.

"Remove her restraints."

She shot a dark look at the nurse who removed the leather straps. She was the one who liked to kiss her cat.

"How do you feel?"

Like she had been drugged. "Fine." Her words sounded stuffy. She swallowed a nonexistent wad of spit and tried to sit up again.

The Doctor, who had been semi-comforting, looked like he was old enough to be valedictorian of the nearest high school. The start of a beard helped to make him look slightly older, although not enough to make her trust him with her medical care. She glanced down and couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes. He was wearing cargo pants and a pair of hiking boots that had seen better days.

"I'm Dr. Jinney."

Avery eyes him, trying to figure out which secret had been his. Maybe the one about the thief younger brother.

"Be careful." He placed a hand on her back and helped to balance her. Avery ignored the way his hand was touching her back sweat. She glanced back behind her and wanted to melt into a puddle at the sight of the moisture her had left behind on the table. "You might experience some residual side effects of the drugs."

"I consider it to be my wel..." She trailed off, unable to speak without it sounding like she was choking on a pile of dirt her throat was so cracked. "Do you have water?"

A nurse materialized out of nowhere and handed her a glass of extremely cold water along with a bagel that was supposed to look appetizing, Avery imagined. It didn't. She immediately set it aside, purposely putting it in her sweat stain, and downed the glass of water.

The doctor removed his hand and stood up to check on her vital signs, giving her time to look around the room. The machines and supply cabinets were hardly interesting, but the observation galley offered her something to look at to bide her time while she waited for the Doctor to say something. There were people up there and they were all staring at her. Or more accurately, some were staring at her, while others were staring at the now sweaty bagel with disgusted looks on their faces. She kept staring at them and reached her hand back, trying to be subtle, and knocked the bagel to the floor.

One of them laughed.

She stuck her face in her glass and looked at her feet, feeling a blush engulfing her face. They had been nice enough to cover her feet in socks, even if they didn't bother going the extra mile to clean her off.

"They've been there the whole time." Dr. Jinney said, glancing up at the observers. "You're very important to them."

"Apparently." Avery couldn't help but look back up at them.

She could see Agent Coulson standing closest to the glass, talking on the phone with someone she assumed was very important. The next man, the one that towered over everyone else, wasn't someone she recognized. He was distractingly handsome in a very vanilla sort of way. She looked over at the next man. He looked nervous to be there, although she didn't know why. He looked smart, which she considered to be a good thing, and thoughtful. He was staring at her, however, in a way that made her highly uncomfortable.

He seemed to feel the same way.

When they made eye contact he instantly started shaking. His hands balled into fists at his sides, fingernails digging into his palms in an obviously painful way. She watched in confusion as the tips of his fingers started to turn an odd, very pale shade of green. It spread up from his nails and over his hands. The other man, the tall one, noticed almost as soon as it started. He spoke to the one in the glasses rapidly, arms extended out in a placating way. Coulson quickly hung up his phone and dialed a new number. The man in the glasses ignored both of them and continued shaking.

He looked back at Avery for a brief moment before he ran out of the room.

Avery knew he mouth was open like an idiot but she couldn't help it.

The other man looked back down at Avery. He stepped closer to the glass, pressing his hand against it, and looked at her with an indescribable amount of intensity. He was blaming her for something; she could see that in his eyes. He left the room shortly after that, leaving the observation galley empty and Avery wondering what the hell had just happened.

Her head throbbed, from both the medication and confusion, and the sweat that coated her body suddenly felt very cold and uncomfortable.

"The Director asked me to report to him when you wake up." Dr. Jinney kept glancing up at the empty glass room and back at her.

Avery finally tore her gaze away from the room and looked back at Dr. Jinney. "Who was that?"

"Dr. Bruce Banner and Captain Steve Rogers."

Avery wondered if that was supposed to mean something to her.

"Get dressed."

Avery jumped when the exam room was suddenly flooded with men wearing S.H.I.E.L.D. issue clothing. A few of them were holding guns. The one who was speaking to her was the same man that had been so nice to her in the desert, the one who thought it was appropriate to shove a needle in her throat. His name started with an R, maybe. She crossed her arms over her chest at the sight of him, completely ignoring the fact that she was in nothing but a flimsy hospital gown.

"Get dressed." He repeated, throwing something blue and scratchy looking at her. She caught it and dropped it on the table next to her without even bothering to unfold it to see what it was.

"What's going on?" Avery asked, eyeing the man closest to her with disdain. Dr. Jinney was pushed back towards the far side of the room, despite his protests.

"The situation has changed." R-something walked over to the table and picked up the pile of clothes and shoved them into her chest. "Get dressed."

"Are you going to leave?"

"No." He said.

"Are you going to turn around?" Avery asked, looking at all of the men with an expectant look on her face.

"Are you going to get dressed?"

"Yes. Oh my god, yes." Avery jumped off the table, only to instantly regret it. There was a draft in the back that made her realize she wasn't wearing any underwear. She reached her hand back to make sure the dress was covering her up, feeling a blush covering her entire body. "Now, turn around."

All of the men did so, albeit reluctantly. When she was certain no one could see anything they shouldn't, she slipped out of the hospital gown. She dropped it on the table and unfolded the pile of clothes they gave her. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform that was three sizes too big and they didn't see fit to give her any sort of undergarments. She pulled on the pants, sans underwear, and could already feel herself getting grossed out. She put the undershirt on next, followed by the jacket. She shook her arms into the sleeves, feeling very much like a flapping bird.

"Okay, I'm decent, I guess. Although I really think an agency with this kind of money could afford to buy uniforms that fit."

"Cuff her."

Avery's eyes widened once again. One of the men moved towards her, painful looking metal cuffs in hand. She took as many steps back as she could before she ran into the metal table. "This is getting a little old. I haven't done anything."

"Captain Rogers and The Black Widow will be waiting for you in the hangar."

"I'm leaving the ship? I literally just got here."

"The situation is changed." R-something said again. "You need to be off the ship until the threat is handled."

"What situation?" Avery asked, shooting daggers at the man who handcuffed her. "You're going to have to put on my shoes, genius."

"Let's go."

"Where am I going?" Avery asked as the man holding her cuffs bent down to shove her feet into a pair of stiff leather boots. They didn't even bother to be gentle. Avery thought that summed up S.H.I.E.L.D. perfectly. She wiggled her toes around and could already feel the blisters forming. The man stood up and walked her towards the door. "These feel like plastic."

R-something pushed her to move. "Send her medical reports to Director Fury."

* * *

Avery was walked down a hallway, hands firmly cuffed behind her back. She wondered if they thought this was supposed to stop her from using her powers, as that was the only real threat she posed considering how abysmal she was at fighting and self-defense. It was laughable, actually, but she said nothing.

"What hangar are we going to?" Avery asked, peering over her shoulder. "Is it the same one that I wasn't awake for the first time?"

"Move faster. The longer you are on this ship the longer you are putting everyone at risk." R-something said, pushing her back forcefully.

"How am I putting everyone at risk?" Avery asked, interest piqued. "What's happening?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Total bullshit." Avery muttered darkly.

It took them five more minutes to reach the hangar, although it felt longer to Avery. It had been an uncomfortable walk in more ways than one. For one thing, they got the cuffs too tight, making her wrists chaff. For another, everybody they passed by stared at her like she was a serial killer. Lastly, R-something had been rather mum for the remainder of the walk. She had thrown questions at him, both using her powers and not, and still hadn't been able to get much. She came to the annoying conclusion that he didn't know much of anything.

Natasha was waiting for them when they arrived, foot tapping rhythmically. Avery noticed that her uniform fit her like a glove, accentuating everything. Avery looked down at her own self and grimaced. She looked like a shriveled blueberry. "Load her in the plane."

"I'm not cargo, Natasha." Avery said, rubbing her wrists once the handcuffs had been removed. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Natasha glared at her for even asking. Avery had almost forgotten how much the redhead disliked her. She could feel it when Natasha looked at her, like she was thinking of all the ways in which she might like to kill her or, at least, maim her in some sort of creative way.

"You could make me." Natasha said in a low voice, moving aside to let the other agents lead Avery in.

"I've tried with him, so it probably won't work with you." Natasha took a threatening step towards her at the mere suggestion that Avery would even think of using her powers on her, making Avery shrink visibly. "But I won't."

"And why is that?"

"Because you would give me a red smile from ear to ear just for shits and giggles if I did."

R-something shoved her into a seat inside the plane before she could say anything else to Natasha. He looked down at her for a moment and she thought she saw a bit of anxiety flash in his eyes, but she could have imagined it.

The plane was extremely cold and monochrome. The seat belts were grey, the metal sides were grey, the floors were grey. Everything was grey with the exception of the man standing at the front of the plane. He was dressed obnoxiously, if she was being perfectly honest. Red, white, and blue were apparently in right now. He was staring at her like he thought she was trouble. He was leaning back from her, hands folded behind his back.

"Hi." Avery said after an uncomfortably quiet moment.

When he said nothing she looked down at her feet. She recognized him from the observation galley, with the man, Dr. Banner if she remembered correctly. "Is that other man okay?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "He didn't look very good."

"I…" He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her.

"Is he not coming with us?" Avery asked, wondering why the bespectacled man had left so suddenly. "He was with you earlier."

"That was before you used your powers on him." Natasha said from her seat in the front of the plane. "You used your powers on him regardless of the risk it possessed to everyone else in this facility. Now we have to babysit you until he can cool down and figure out what happened so that you don't accidentally do it to him again."

"I didn't do anything." Avery snapped.

"Yes you did. Now sit down before you mess up anything else."

 


	9. Chapter 9

He was staring again. He hadn't stopped since they boarded the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane and Avery was starting to get paranoid. She absentmindedly rubbed her face, checking for any signs that she might have suddenly developed some hideous skin legion without knowing it. She hadn't, so she knew that the reason behind his staring was the reason behind everyone's staring.

Avery met his gaze and instantly caused him to look away, a slight redness to his cheeks and neck at being caught. She smirked, feeling slightly better that he at least had manners. Avery tapped her fingers on her arms rhythmically, staring at the side of his turned head with interest. He was very handsome, she decided, even if he had a terrible case of the stares and extremely poor decision making when it came to attire. But she digressed.

She picked at a bit of fabric on her arm, fingers playing with the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia on her bicep and huffed audibly.

Avery didn't even know where they were going. She didn't even know why she was on the plane in the first place.

She realized that she wasn't meant to, but it still annoyed her to no end. She pulled her arms closer to her chest and rubbed them, fully aware that he was once again looking at her. He had been doing that whenever he thought she didn't notice. She wished he would just ask her what he wanted to know, and it was very obvious that he wanted to know something, instead of trying to puzzle it out by memorizing the details of her face in painstaking detail. She shifted in her seat, pulling her legs up underneath herself, and peered back over at Steve.

"So, they called you Captain earlier?" Avery said, clearing her throat thickly when she couldn't handle the weird silence any longer.

He seemed a little surprised that she was speaking to him, but recovered before it was too obvious. "Yes."

More silence.

"Of what?" Avery cringed, thinking that it wouldn't matter anyway. This couldn't get any worse. She felt like she was pulling teeth with him trying to get a conversation out of him.

He stared at her with his very blue eyes and didn't speak for a moment.

"America."

He seemed so serious when he said that she instantly felt bad for laughing. She couldn't keep her giggles contained, however. She snorted and covered her mouth with her hand, unable to properly cover it up. "Oh my god, you're being serious." Avery's laughter petered out awkwardly. The plane was quieter than ever in the wake of her outburst and she looked away from him again, picking at the loose bunches of fabric at her hips. "Is that why you're all spangly?"

Spangly was mild, at best. She wanted to say that it looked like someone ate too many popsicles and then proceeded to vomit on him but that would probably come off as a bit on the rude side. And she was trying to be nice, even if laughing at him was probably getting off to a bad start.

"Yes."

Silence again.

"So what do you do as Captain of America, do you…"

"It's just Captain America." Steve corrected her, an ever so slight smile on his face. "Steve, though would be better, Miss..."

"Avery." He smiled a bit wider before he looked at her face more closely and suddenly looked away, discomfort taking over once again. She rolled her eyes. S.H.I.E.L.D. was obviously gossiping at the proverbial water cooler about her again. She sank down in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. She tried to subtly flex her back and hips without making it to obvious, but she could only move so much in her narrow seat. The metal plane seat was doing nothing in the lumbar support department.

Another complaint she would level at Fury if she ever got the chance to.

"Have you," He paused and shook his head, seeming to rethink his question before he went ahead anyway. "Have you never heard of me?"

"Should I have?" Avery asked.

"That sounded a bit conceded didn't it?"

"A little." Avery smirked at him. Now that he said something, there was a nagging in her mind about the name 'Captain America'. The weird kid who she sat next to in third grade carried a lunchbox with him on it. She knew it couldn't possibly be the same man, considering the one on the lunchbox was from World War II. She remembered because the kid liked to talk to her about how much he wished Captain America was his dad, which turned into him going into detail about how much attention he didn't get from his own dad, which turned into her punching him in the face to shut up. "You were on his lunchbox."

"Pardon?" Steve looked confused.

"Well, obviously not you because that would make you positively ancient, but you were on this kid's lunchbox in third grade. Yea," She snapped her fingers and stood up. She stepped across the plane, stumbling slightly when it dipped, and sat down next to him. "You're outfit is a little more modern than his, but it was definitely the same name."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "Everybody I've encountered already knows so I don't really know how to…"Avery looked down at her lap and waited for Steve to continue. She sat on her hands for good measure. "I'm him."

"The _him_ on the lunchbox?" Avery asked slowly, trying not to sound like she was mocking him. "That's sort of impossible."

"I know. I'm still working on believing it myself."

"So you're…"

"I woke up after sev…"

She smiled at him when they both started speaking at the same time, blushing a little. She nodded for him to continue.

"Get ready, Cap. We're less than three minutes away from Stuttgart."

Steve looked at her for moment before he stood up, unable to finish what he was going to say. He was a big guy sitting down, but he positively dwarfed her when he was standing up. She had to stand up as well so she wouldn't feel so tiny, but that didn't help. She barely reached his shoulder, and she imagined that was due to the little heel on her boots.

Steve pulled out a helmet, one that conveniently matched the ridiculousness of the rest of his outfit, and strapped it under his chin securely. Avery noticed the large 'A' emblazoned on his forehead. She wanted to say something snarky about her fondness of the letter he had picked, but decided she would save that for later. He tightened his gloves next before he secured a shield to his arm.

"Get in, get the Asgardian, get out." Natasha said loudly over the sound of the engines. She flipped a few switches and turned in her seat. "Make it fast. We can't afford a scene with this one."

"I think that might be his goal, Ma'am."

Natasha muttered under breath and flipped another switch, which opened the hatch of the plane. Very clean, very cool air, rushed in. Avery's hair instantly messed up and wrapped around her neck and face, obscuring her view of Steve as he left the plane in a blur of red, white, and blue. As soon as he was gone the hatch snapped shut again, leaving Avery sitting in silence that was only broken up by the sound of wind rushing outside the plane and Natasha speaking into her headset quietly.

Avery pursed her lips and wished, once again, that there were windows in the plane so she could watch what was happening with Steve and the Asgardian. She imagined they were fighting, but she really had nothing to go on other than that. She pulled her legs up to her chest, ignoring the way the strap across her hips bit into her skin, and leaned her head against her knees, waiting. She closed her eyes and listened to Natasha in the cockpit, picking at a bit of scuffed leather on the side of her boot. She rubbed her fingernail over the patch, scratching it methodically while she listened to what Natasha was saying.

The plane dipped suddenly, throwing Avery's head into her kneecap with a crack. The seat belt went stiff, keeping Avery rooted in her seat. There was a sharp pain across her hips that radiated upwards to cause a small wave of nausea, but she pushed it down, thinking it would be best if she didn't hurl all over the plane. She glared at Natasha, as if it was her fault, and froze when she saw the red head staring right back at her.

"Stay quiet." Natasha said. Avery fought the urge to point out that she hadn't actually said anything.

"What happened?"

Natasha surprised her by actually answering her question. "A complication."

Avery pressed a hand to her forehead, massaging the spot that had hit her knee, feeling the tenderness of her skin beneath her palm. "What sort of…"Avery trailed off when music of the very loud and annoying variety drowned her out. Her eyes narrowed. Avery didn't even try to understand what was going on anymore. She un-buckled her seat belt and half stood up, making up her mind to try and see out of the cockpit, only to stumble back into her seat when the plane dipped towards the ground again, faster than before. She gave up at that point, sitting down in her seat moodily. She would just have to wait for answers.

* * *

The plane landed and the hatch opened. Avery leaned outwards, curiosity getting the better of her. Steve stepped on the plane first pulling a very peculiarly dressed man behind him. He seemed unnaturally fond of leather and avoiding showers, as indicated by the greasy nature of his jet black hair and malnourished skin tone. Steve shoved the man down in a seat opposite Avery and bent down in front of him to shackle his feet together to match his hands.

The man with the nasty hair looked at her over Steve's shoulder, a slight smirk finding its way onto his face when he made eye contact with her. Avery's skin crawled.

"You brought a date, Cap?"

"Just get in the plane Stark." Natasha called from the cockpit.

Avery had never seen a celebrity up close. And Tony Stark definitely counted as a celebrity. He looked very intimidating in his Iron Man suit, although he was still smirking as he made himself comfortable in the plane. Avery sat down carefully, trying to process the turn this little trip had taken, unable to find an explanation. First Steve jumping out of the plane to fight an Asgardian, whatever that was, then Steve coming back with not one, but two more people, one of whom just so happened to be Tony Stark.

"I am in the plane." He said, looking down at Avery. "She's on the plane as well. And she's bruised. I'm sorry, who is she?"

"What happened?" Steve looked around him, looking for something that might have caused the redness of her skin, she thought. When he found nothing his gaze settled on her. "What happened?"

Avery touched her forehead, but dismissed it with a wave of her other hand. "I hit my knee. Who's that?" She pointed to the man across from her, who hadn't stopped smirking at her since he sat down.

"Who are you?"

"Avery." She said, tearing her gaze away from the creepy man to look at Stark. "I don't know why I'm here." She felt like she needed to say that, for some reason, just to feel less awkward. She glanced at Steve, noticing that he was looking back and forth between both her and Stark. "Natasha won't tell me."

"Tony Stark." He extended a metallic hand for her to shake. She looked at it for a moment, debating for some reason she couldn't quite place, before she grasped it with her own. "You've got a little something..." He gestured to above her eye.

"Do I? I hadn't noticed."

He stared at her, seeming to decide something. "I like her." Stark said to Steve. "I like you." Avery blushed at the assessment and looked down at her feet, causing Stark to laugh.

"Is anybody actually watching the prisoner or are the three of you too busy enjoying each other's company?" Nobody said anything. "Good. Then, we're leaving."

That seemed to pull everybody's focus back. Steve readjusted his gloves and moved to stand behind the cockpit, nodding to Tony in a significant way that clearly meant he wished to speak with him. Tony stomped over to him, louder due to his suit, and leaned close to Steve so that they wouldn't be overheard. Avery was half tempted to go stand next to them, but she knew she wasn't invited. She looked at their backs and sank down in the nearest seat.

The plane was ascending quickly, too quickly. It wasn't pressurized and her head felt thick and foggy instantly. She worked her jaw to avoid her ears popping, but it didn't help much. She reached her hands up to massage her temples, shooting furtive glances at Steve and Tony, straining her ears to hear what they were saying. She didn't miss the way Tony peered back at her after a few moments, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Jumping to conclusions was useless, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She had been more paranoid as of late, for obvious reasons.

"They are speaking about you." Avery whipped her head around. She had completely forgotten about the third man in the plane, which was ridiculous because he hadn't stopped staring at her since they shoved him into the seat. "The man in iron is wondering why you're here."

"Me too." She said, eyes trailing over him.

She wasn't sure if she liked the way he looked. His hair was nasty, and his skin looked like he had just gotten over a stomach bug, but his eyes were sort of nice to look at, if she ignored how manic they were. Then there was the fact that he was wearing an outfit made entirely of green and black leather. That alone was enough to make her not trust him. That and the handcuffs he was wearing.

His smirk made her skin crawl.

She looked away and hunkered down in her seat, making up her mind to ignore him for the remainder of the journey, however long that would be.

"I find that I am curious as well."

She refused to look at him again. She picked at the dirt under her fingernails, scraping it out until they were sort of clean. She realized, a moment too late, that all she had done was transfer the dirt from one nail to another. Stupidly, she started to repeat the process again.

"You are not the same as them."

Perhaps he thought he was telling her some sort of earth shattering news. That she was going to look at him to explain what he meant, but she didn't. She didn't need to be told that she different from the rest of the people in the plane to know it. Rolling her eyes, she turned to look at Tony and Steve like they were the two most interesting men in the entire world.

"I'm making you uncomfortable." Her lip twitched with the desire to say something snarky. She bit her lip and continued avoiding his gaze. "Or perhaps, it is their distrust making you squirm."

"I'm not squirming." She bit back, realizing a moment too late that she had broken the promise to herself to ignore him. "I'm ignoring you."

"And you're doing a wonderful job."

Avery rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over his chest. He was smirking again, or maybe he never stopped, one of his dark eyebrows raised with amusement at the sour look on her face. He seemed very comfortable for a man currently shackled up in hand and ankle cuffs. Avery glanced back at Steve and Tony before she leaned forward a bit.

"You seem chipper, you know, for a man who found himself arrested in the most embarrassing outfit ever." The man didn't even bother to look down at his clothing. He smiled showing his teeth this time, causing Avery to wonder if she had said something he found amusing. She didn't like it when it smiled, even less than she liked it when he smirked. In fact, she wished he would just stop looking at her entirely, let alone smiling or smirking. "Just shut up."

"I haven't spoken, Avery."

"God, you make my name sound like a dirty word." She said cringing.

The flood lights above his head flickered on as the sky outside slipped into darkness. The light made him look even sicker and for a second she considered asking if he needed water or something, but pushed that desire down. He was cuffed for a reason, and while it was S.H.I.E.L.D. doing the cuffing she was inclined to follow their lead. Just this once, in any case.

They slipped back into an uncomfortable silence that Avery was thankful for. Steve and Tony were still speaking to each other in hushed tones up at the cockpit, but they had stopped glancing back at her, which she took to be a good sign. It allowed her to relax ever so slightly, although she still remained guarded and uncertain. Mostly about why she was there, but she had given up on finding out why, for the time being. She assumed they would be getting back to the base soon enough and then someone would answer her endless list of questions. Like what had happened so suddenly to cause her to need to be on this plane, to need to be away from the base, which turned out to be a floating airship, in the first place.

The thought had occurred to her to use her powers to get some answers but she had quickly ruled that out almost as soon as it crossed her mind. They were what got her into the mess she found herself in and she was certain, reasonably so, that the fastest way to get out of it was to stop using them. That was easier said than done, but she was trying, really trying. In fact, it was giving her a headache to concentrate so hard on not using them but she refused to let them go haywire in a plane with a man who looked like he literally repelled shampoo. She could only image the secrets he carried around with him.

Maybe the secret to making people uncomfortable just with one simple smirk.

Even though Avery could see very little out the cockpit window she could tell that it was getting darker. When she glanced between Steve and Tony she could see that the lights from the plane were bouncing off clouds that she didn't think had been as thick before. She tried to peer around Tony's leg, hoping they were getting close to getting back. She was starting to feel claustrophobic in the little metal plane.

There was a loud crack followed by a flash that lit up the inside of the plane like it was daylight. Avery had never been one to be afraid of storms, in fact she liked them quite a bit, but there was something about being stuck in the middle of one thousands of feet in the air that made her uneasy. Especially when they seemed to come out of nowhere. She shifted in her seat and reached for her seat belt subconsciously.

"Scared of a little lightning?"

Avery opened her mouth to respond before she realized that Steve wasn't speaking to her. She looked over at the black-haired man and saw that he was looking up at the top of the plane with widened eyes and an open mouth, like he was frightened, which she found hard to believe.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows."

More lightning crackled, causing the plane to dip again and Avery to buckle herself into her seat. The man across from her wasn't smirking any more, which normally would have made her happy, but now stressed her out. She was just about to ask what was happening when another loud bang reverberated through the plane, louder than all the others before. The plane shook enough to cause Steve and Tony to need to grab onto something to keep from falling over and the man to be knocked backwards in his seat.

"What the…"

Tony snapped his helmet onto his head and moved towards the control panel, causing Steve to scramble to his own helmet and shield that lay stacked neatly next to his feet. He was halfway through slipping his hand into the strap of his shield when Tony opened the hatch, sending an inordinate amount of wind rushing into the plane.

The wind was the least of their problems, however, when a man, dressed just as stupidly as the one in the seat, appeared out of nowhere at the edge of the hatch ramp.

He advanced into the plane, eyes set intently on the man in the seat, completely oblivious to the other people around him. He yanked him out of his seat violently, wrapping one of his massive hands around the black-haired man's neck to pull him back towards the open hatch. Avery realized, maybe a bit too late, that he was planning on jumping with them both. Without a parachute.

"What the hell?"

Her exclamation drew the new man's attention to her for a fraction of a second. Her body tensed up the moment they locked eyes and, for a moment, she felt her control slip.

Just a fraction of a second.

Apparently that was all that was needed for everything to descend into madness. Lightning came flooding in through the hatch and centered on the hammer the man was holding for a brief moment that felt like a lifetime before it ricocheted through the rest of the plane, invading the mechanics of the plane, causing everything to go haywire.

It was quiet, and Avery thought that maybe that was the worst of it, before the plane started plummeting towards the ground.


	10. Chapter 10

Avery was screaming. Or maybe she only thought she was screaming and she was, in fact, already dead and imagining the whole thing. The feeling of vertigo assaulting her body made her think otherwise and she immediately started frantically clawing at her seatbelt, desperate to get out of her seat before she died in her spot, turned into nothing more than a human pancake.

The plane flipped, sending her head slamming back into the metallic paneling behind the seat with a crunch. Every time she got close to unbuckling her belt the plane would dip, sending things flying at her, knocking her head and shoulders from side to side. She wasn't even aware a plane like this carried so much cargo, but she decided not to think about that too much when there were other more pressing things to focus on.

Such as not dying, for a start.

After what felt like hours, Avery finally snapped open her seatbelt, lessening her panic ever so slightly. As soon as she wasn't strapped to her seat, she flew upwards towards the ceiling of the plane. She threw her hands up to prevent her head from smacking into the top, crying out at the cuts she got on her palms from the rough metal. Now that she was out of her seat, she could see that her situation wasn't much better. There weren't any parachutes she could see and it wasn't like she could fly. She looked around frantically to see if there was anything that could help her, but found nothing. Tony and Steve were gone, that she could see, and the man carrying the hammer had disappeared with the prisoner shortly after the plane stopped working. As far as she knew, she was on her own. She had been wishing to be alone for months. This was karma somehow. She just knew it.

Avery wrapped her bleeding hands around one of the protruding metal beams, using them like monkey bars to move towards the hatch. She decided, without much thought in fact, that she would rather die outside the plane than in it.

Halfway towards the hatch, strong arms wrapped around her stomach from behind, startling her. "Don't let go." The person pulled her away from the ceiling, forcing Avery to shift around in their arms to actually grab onto them as well. She didn't know who it was, but she didn't care, for obvious reasons. She latched herself onto them like a lemur, arms and legs intertwining behind the person's back in a vice grip.

It only took them a few moments to exit the plane through the open hatch. Avery felt like dead weight but she didn't know what else to do beyond holding onto the person for dear life. It was probably Natasha, judging by the size of the hips, but she didn't dare look up to see if she was right. She supposed if they lived long enough to make it to the ground, in one piece most importantly to her, she would see. She half-hoped it wasn't Natasha just so she wouldn't have to deal with the debacle of owing her something in any way, shape, or form. Then again, she shouldn't be picky about the person saving her life. It was in poor form.

Avery peeked over the person's shoulder, watching as they cleared the lip of the plane. The sky above them, or it could have been the ground, spun in front of her like a kaleidoscope. Every time she tried to focus on one thing, they would flip and she would lose sight of what she was looking at, leaving her disoriented and nauseas.

"I need you to pull the chute."

"What?" Avery screamed against the wind.

"The chute!" They flipped again, Avery ended up upside down, staring at the ground that was getting closer and closer at an alarming rate. "I can't reach it!"

"I don't…" She thought she might puke. "I don't know where the pull is!"

" _Find it_!" That was definitely Natasha.

Avery grasped at the pack over Natasha's shoulders, desperately trying to find the little string. She knew they only had seconds, moments, before they would be nothing more than little splats on the ground. Her hands shook horrifically.

"Avery." Natasha actually sounded scared, which made Avery even more terrified. She didn't even know what point of afraid she was at. Hair turning white fear seemed like the right way to describe it, but even that didn't feel like enough. She moved her hand around Natasha's back, desperation making her movements sloppy and fruitless. "Avery, do it!"

Avery squeezed her eyes shut and pulled her body closer to Natasha's, freeing up a bit more movement in her arms. She almost screamed for joy when she felt the metallic charm at the end of the parachute pull hit her arm. She reached her other hand over and grabbed it, yanking it violently.

The whiplash from the sudden change in momentum almost made Avery let go of Natasha. She squeezed her tighter, feeling the tears that had been threatening to spill over finally explode. She buried her face into Natasha's shoulder and cried, from both elation at not being dead and residual panic from what had just happened. If the situation had been any different she would have been mortified at how she was clinging to the red-head. Natasha didn't seem to mind, considering she was holding onto Avery just as tight, although without all the messy blubbering.

"We're going to land soon." Natasha said over the sound of the wind. Avery noticed it had lessened considerably, although they were still falling faster than made her comfortable. "You need to unwarp your legs."

Avery tried to do so for a moment but immediately reattached herself, stronger than before, when she felt her body start to slip.

Natasha cursed in a language that sounded distinctly like Russian and tried to loosen Avery's grip from her, which caused Avery to cling tighter. Avery was thankful she didn't just drop her, which she easily could have. She thought she might deserve it after what had happened up on the plane. She knew it was her fault, although she didn't know why. When she looked at the man holding the hammer everything had exploded and she knew that it was because of her.

Natasha seemed to realize that Avery wasn't going to let go and tried shift them so that she would be able to land with her legs down, although that did very little to lessen their impact. Natasha's feet hit first, causing Avery to slam back first into the ground, taking Natasha with her. If Avery could breathe she would have told Natasha to get off, but she couldn't even manage to get anything out besides a strangled groan.

The plane, or at least part of the plane, landed next, catching on the canopy of trees. The parachute was in shreds from the falling debris, but it could have been worse. That could have been them. Natasha sat down next to Avery, fiddling with the parachute straps. When they didn't pop open, she pulled out a knife and sliced them off manually, muttering angrily to herself the entire time. Avery watched her, sucking in air greedily. She allowed herself a few moments rest before she sat up, using her elbows rather than her hands, and continued to watch Natasha.

The silence between them seemed to stretch on forever, making Avery more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment. She wanted Natasha to say something. She would prefer her yelling at her to the quiet. Her knife glistened dangerously, despite the fact that it was aimed at the parachute and not her.

She slumped back to the ground and looked up at the trees, glancing back at the knife occasionally.

It was quiet and peaceful for a moment before the trees above them groaned, causing Avery to narrow her eyes instantly. Another groan made more leaves spiral down towards them. Something snapped. Karma. This was definitely karma.

"Natasha, move!"

Avery grabbed Natasha around her shoulders and threw their bodies to the side. Her muscles, which had been jarred from their rough landing, strained with the effort of hauling both of their weights. She should have worked out a bit more while she was with S.H.I.E.L.D., but she had only done the bare minimum required of her, out of pride more than anything. She had always been told she was stubborn.

They landed with a thud; Avery's back slamming into a tree. It offered Natasha the leverage she needed to switch their positions. She shoved Avery down with one hand and brandished the knife at her with the other, causing Avery's throat to run dry. She tried to push herself back from Natasha, only to find that the tree was blocking her escape. Natasha moved the knife closer, the tip coming dangerously close to her jugular vein. Avery glanced down at it, wondering how she had managed to go from one deadly situation to another in a matter of moments. She was just lucky, she guessed.

"Natasha." Avery tried to hold her hand up in a placating way. "Please, don't."

The stuck piece of the plane crashed behind them, causing Natasha to jump at the volume it produced. She barely pressed the tip of the knife into Avery's skin, causing a small bit of blood to seep out. Avery's hiss of pain was enough to jar Natasha out of her shocked reverie. Avery took the moment to shove her hand away, not able to look away from her just in case she decided to stab her again.

"You saved my life." Natasha sat back, the knife falling down to her side.

Avery blinked rapidly at the dumbfounded tone in her voice. Of course she had saved her life. The statement was so stupid Avery didn't even know how to respond. "Well, yea."

Natasha seemed uncomfortable with the notion. Rather than say anything else, she stood up, sheathing her knife in her boot. Avery released the breath she had been holding, although she still couldn't bring herself to move out of shock.

"That was close." Tony Stark, face mask still down, landed next to them. He kicked up dust into Avery's face, causing her eyes to immediately start watering. "Anybody hurt?

Natasha glanced at Avery and the tiny cut on her neck, but chose not to comment on it, not that Avery expected her to. Avery reached her hand up and pressed a couple fingers against the spot, assessing the damage. She freaked out at the amount of blood for a moment before she remembered both of her hands were cut. She pulled her sleeves down over both of her hands as she stood up.

"Fine." Avery's voice came out like a squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Fine, we're fine. What part of the plane was that?"

"The hatch. The electrical discharge must have caused it to detach."

The electrical discharged that she had caused. The unsaid part of that sentence hung over them heavily. She fiddled with the ends of her sleeves in a nervous manner and waited for someone else to speak, avoiding looking at either of them directly.

"Do you see any sign of the others?" Natasha asked, fixing the straps of her holsters. Avery must have messed them up when they were falling.

"No." Avery said, feeling no small amount of misery creeping up on her when the realization washed over her. "Have you seen them?"

"Nothing. Sky's quiet."

"Where's Loki?" Natasha was pressing her finger to her ear, trying, and failing, to get communication. She pulled the little black earpiece out and turned it over in her hand. Avery leaned closer, cautiously aware of the fact that Natasha still had her knife. "It's fried." She threw it at the nearest tree, shattering it on contact. That seemed like a little bit of an overreaction, but Avery kept her mouth shut.

"So we can't contact S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Avery asked, taking an immediate step back when Natasha glared at her.

"Are your communications still functioning?" Natasha asked Tony, completely ignoring Avery. He nodded, an action which caused both Avery and Natasha to visibly relax. "Contact them."

"Already have. They're a bit concerned, obviously."

"How long until they can pick us up?"

"They didn't say."

"Shouldn't we try and find the others while we wait?" Avery asked, looking down at the ground in the hope that neither of them would start asking about what had happened in the plane.

"I'll take the air and see what I can find. You two start heading towards higher ground." His face mask lowered and he took off immediately, leaving the two standing in an awkward silence.

The quiet between them extended for far longer than Avery would have liked in Tony's absence. She could feel Natasha staring at her, glaring at her, so she avoided making eye contact enthusiastically. She crossed her hands behind her back and started picking at a few wayward specks of dirt and twigs, ignoring the way it stung her hands. It felt like there were hundreds, which she was sort of thankful for as it offered her a decent distraction. Natasha didn't seem to care about the uncomfortableness between them. She grabbed Avery by the shoulder and started marching off into the trees, dragging her along behind her.

Rather than say anything stupid, Avery kept her mouth shut and gaze firmly planted on the back of Natasha's head. Her boots were not made for this sort of thing and already rubbed something awful, causing her to stumble occasionally.

"Keep up, Gudrun."

The tone of Natasha's voice was one that made the hair on the back of Avery's neck stand up. She sprinted to keep up.

"Do you think the others are okay?" Avery asked, despite her reservations about speaking with Natasha directly. This was the longest time they had spent together and she felt terribly uncomfortable. Their first meeting hadn't gone very well and Natasha hadn't been able to be in the same room without glaring at Avery since. She supposed it was a normal response, considering the first time they had met Avery accidentally made Natasha talk about her past.

She still cringed when she thought about the murderous look on Natasha's face.

"Well, they were in a plane crash." The edge to her voice was gone. Avery moved a little closer, still out of the assassin's reach, so that she could hear her better. "Your guess is as good as mine."

"Who was that grabbed the greasy guy?"

"The greasy guy was Loki. I thought you knew that." Natasha stopped walking and turned to look at Avery. "The other one was Thor, his brother."

"Brother? Genetics are weird."

Natasha 'hmmd' and started to keep walking, but she decided to stop last moment. "How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?" Avery shoved her hands into her pockets. Natasha was staring at her and for once she could see that the unnatural amount of anger slowly leaving her eyes. That unnerved her enough to cause her to take a hesitant step backwards. Natasha immediately rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to do anything."

"Are you certain about that?" Avery asked, eyes trailing down to the gun holstered at her hip and the knife strapped to her thigh.

"Stop looking like a puppy that just got kicked."

"You scare me." Avery leaned back against a tree, careful to keep Natasha, and all of her weapons, in her line of sight. When Natasha smirked Avery wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. The small smile, which was altogether alarming, quickly left her face and was instantly replaced by the same look of questioning she sported before.

"So, how do you do it? What happened on the plane?"

"I don't really know, to be honest." She toed an exposed root, thinking about what reasons Natasha might have for suddenly finding Avery and her powers interesting. It wasn't as if she had ever bothered to find out what made Avery tick before. She didn't think Natasha truly cared. She was certain all she saw was a problem, a liability, that needed to be taken care of. Avery glanced down at her feet, debating her options before she decided to play along. "If you have any ideas, you're more than welcome to chime in. Maybe you could tell me why I was on the plane in the first place?"

Natasha was silent and Avery thought that she would be better off not trying to speak to her at all. Avery was just about to walk away when Natasha let out a heavy sigh and started speaking. "I'm only telling you this to prevent any further disasters. If you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, I will…"

"Kill me? Lock me up in a facility that has a tendency to blow up?"

Natasha was not impressed by Avery's sarcasm, but she kept speaking regardless. "Director Fury decided it would be better if you were kept in the dark about things that you didn't need to know."

"That's worked out really swimmingly, wouldn't you say?" Avery snapped, wishing that that she wasn't still affected by S.H.I.E.L.D. in the way she was. She felt the bitterness rising up inside her and immediately pushed it back, waiting to see what Natasha told her before she got too angry.

"Obviously it isn't." Natasha snapped back.

"I'm tired of this shit, Natasha." Avery said, kicking the root a little harder than before.

"We thought what happened on the Helicarrier was an isolated event, that you and everyone else would be safe if we removed you from the situation. Clearly, that isn't true." Avery snorted derisively and returned her gaze to the ground.

"Obviously. I just caused a plane crash because I made eye contact with someone."

They fell into a silence that felt like it stretched on forever before Natasha finally started speaking again. Her voice wasn't as harsh as it could have been. There was still an edge to it, however, forcing Avery to keep her guard up. "You should have been told what happened with Dr. Banner."

"Yes, that would probably be a good place to start."

"Shortly after you woke up…"

"After being drugged by R-something."

"Agent Rumlow."

"Whatever."

Natasha's lip pursed, although she continued in spite of Avery's interruptions. "After you woke up you weren't in control of your abilities and you made Dr. Banner start to turn into…" She paused thinking her words over before continuing. "His alternate side. We had to remove you from the situation before it got out of hand."

"So you brought me along. What would have happened if I had stayed? What do you mean his alternate side?" Avery fired her questions at Natasha rapidly, unwilling to let the opportunity pass her up.

"Dr. Banner attempted to recreate the experiment that worked on Steve Rogers and was unsuccessful. It had disastrous results."

"Why didn't you just tell me that from the beginning?" Avery felt so irrationally angry at Natasha for a moment she thought about hitting her. She knew that wouldn't help anything. In fact, it would probably make things worse in that she would get punched in the face for even trying. She quelled her desire and turned her anger towards the root, kicking it until the toes in her right foot throbbed. "Is it because you're afraid of what I'm going to do, who I'm going to tell?"

"We had to be, have to be, careful."

"I get that." Avery wasn't an idiot, she knew that there was some logic in their caution around her. "I know you all think I'm a supervillain who likes to twirl my mustache and think about all the ways I can mess things up for you guys, but I've got a newsflash for you. I have no one to tell. I have nowhere to go. When I ran away after the facility accident I didn't have a destination, I was scared so I started running and I didn't really think about it. I just ran."

"We don't understand you. We thought if we observed you we'd be able to figure it out, how it works."

"Sounds like a really solid plan. Nothing bad could possibly happen, right?" Avery was surprised Natasha had let the conversation go this long.

"I'm not going to apologize."

"I didn't think you would." Avery said quietly.

"But we should have told you."

Avery gave a noncommittal grunt and started to walk again before she stopped, standing next to Natasha. "I didn't mean to do it. Any of it." Natasha assessed her, eyes narrowed. Avery noticed, in that moment, that she was only a few inches shorter than her. If they had been out in the real world, she wouldn't even be afraid of such a small person. "I'm sorry." Avery said after a moment of staring at each other. "For what happened when we first met."

Natasha stared at her and Avery thought her expression was on the verge of softening.

"We need to get to higher ground."

That was that, Avery supposed. She didn't think this could be counted as a moment, but it was something. A weird something, but something. Natasha started back up the incline, indicating that Avery should follow with a nod. She started hiking, ignoring the way her toes hurt more than they did before. She supposed that was bound to happen when one takes their anger out on an unmoving tree root. She tried not to limp, or complain for that matter, and continued to hike in silence behind Natasha.

Avery wondered what country they were in as they hiked up the hill. Germany would probably be a good guess, considering they had picked up Loki in Stuttgart, but they could be anywhere by this point. Europe. She settled on Europe in her mind and turned her attention back towards walking and not tripping and falling flat on her face.

The ground was starting to slope more as they got closer to the little plateau. The forest was silent, even though a plane had just crashed, making Avery think, more and more, that her, Natasha, and Tony were the only ones that survived. They should have heard something from the others by then. She turned to look behind her, hoping that maybe she could see something from the spot that the hatch landed, but was disappointed to find that it was already out of sight. The guilt was awful. It felt like someone had inserted a block of ice into her stomach and chest and it was slowly suffocating her.

"Did you hear that?" Avery blinked, almost running into Natasha. She had been distracted by her own guilt and hadn't notice Natasha had stopped walking. "Over there." Natasha pointed towards her left. Avery followed her gaze, focusing as hard as she could on the dark tree line. She strained to see if she could hear or spot what Natasha was talking about.

Nothing. Not even a ground squirrel. It was too quiet for a place that had just had a plane crash and that made Avery nervous.

Natasha didn't seem to feel the same way. She immediately stalked off into the trees, gun held in front of her. Avery had no choice but to follow. She picked her way through the trees, doing her best to keep up with Natasha, who was practically sprinting. Avery only started to hear what Natasha was talking about after a few moments of running. It sounded like people were fighting. There was yelling, shouting, things breaking. They were running down the incline by the time they reached the point where the trees started thin out, Avery wheezing like a chain-smoker. She knew she should be worried there was some sort of conflict happening and they were running right towards it, but she had quite the opposite reaction.

Those sounds meant there was something, someone, alive.

"Could that be them?" Avery called to Natasha.

"Who else would it be?"

She had a point. Avery refused to let herself feel hopeful, however, until she could see that it was them for sure.

They skidded to a halt at the edge of the tree line, both peering out at the scene in front of them. The tree line, which turned out to just be at the edge of a clearing that obviously wasn't naturally occurring, was littered with broken in half and uprooted trees. Natasha bent down behind one of the uprooted trees and almost immediately yanked Avery down with her. Avery waited a moment before she snuck a peek out from behind the tree to see what they were hiding from.

She instantly regretted it when something very large and metal came flying at the spot her head had just been. She threw herself backwards, running into Natasha with a smack.

"What the hell?"

"This is how they solve their problems." Natasha sounded like this had happened before, although Avery failed to see how that was possible. "Typical."

Avery waited for another moment before she decided to take her chances on seeing what was going on again. She laid down on the ground and wormed her way outwards, making sure her body was hidden and only her face up to her eyes was visible. She felt like even that was too much, but she didn't squirm backwards. At least they were all alive. And healthy. At least, healthy enough to fight each other. She watched Tony throw a punch at Thor, landing it right in his jaw. She cringed and wiggled backwards, sitting up so that she could look at Natasha.

"Should we try and stop them?"

"Be my guest."

Avery dared another glance around the tree they were hiding behind and immediately decided against doing it again. Tony fired in their direction, not on purpose she was sure, and narrowly missed hitting her directly in the face. Natasha grabbed the lose fabric of her jacket and hauled her backwards just before she was hit. The wood of the tree they were hiding behind splintered into a million pieces, forcing them both to shield their faces from the debris.

"So we wait." Avery said, blowing out a little bit of air, throwing a glance over her shoulder at Natasha to confirm.

"We wait." Natasha confirmed.

It was another five minutes or so before something interrupted Thor and Tony enough to make them stop. "Hey!" The fighting stopped immediately at the sound of the new voice. "Enough."

Natasha gave it a few seconds to see if they were truly done before she stood up. Avery noticed she holstered her gun, indicating to her that it would be sort of safe to follow after her. She stood up, keeping most of her body hidden behind the mangled tree just on the off chance Thor and Tony decided to resume. She reached a hand down and grabbed one of the larger pieces of fractured wood and held it behind her back. She could feel the rough edges digging into the cut on her palm but ignored it in favor of having something to defend herself with just in case they decided to start throwing punches again.

Steve had positioned himself between Tony and Thor at some point, arms tensed and jaw tight. He was looking around at the decimated clearing, still visibly coiled, ready to intervene once again.

"Are you three done having your pissing contest?" Natasha asked, sidestepping the tree so she could stand in front of the three men. Even though she was substantially smaller than the three of them, there was something about her presence that demanded their attention. "Where's Loki?" Apparently they had forgotten about Loki. Avery snorted at the looks on their faces. She covered her mouth with her hand almost immediately so they wouldn't notice that she was laughing at them. Natasha noticed, despite her best efforts. "That isn't helping." She shot Avery a scathing look. "Stark, find Loki."

"I will not permit this metal man to lay hands on my brother."

"I didn't ask you." Natasha leveled her glare at Thor, silencing any further arguments before he could say them. "Go, Stark." Tony's facemask snapped shut and he took off, kicking up more dirt in his wake. Avery closed her eyes to avoid getting more dust in them, although it didn't do much good.

"How dare you…"

"I'm going to cut you off right there. We can have this little fight later once Loki is back in custody and we aren't stuck in the middle of nowhere without any transportation."

"You are too bold, woman."

Avery knew her mouth was open but she couldn't help it. These people were all crazy, she decided, or suicidal. She gripped the sliver of wood in her hand tighter and shifted on her feet, glancing around to see if Tony was on his way back. She didn't like being trapped in the wilderness with them. It gave her a major migraine just trying to keep her powers under control. She could already feel her temples throbbing. Steve wasn't so bad, and she was starting to think Natasha wasn't either, but she questioned being around Thor, for obvious reasons.

"Are you alright?"

Sometime during her observations of Natasha and Thor, Steve had sidled over to stand next to her. She noticed he looked more nervous to be around her than before. She tried not to take it personally. "I'm fine. You?"

He smiled slightly and nodded, readjusting his shield in his hand. "It isn't the first time I've fallen out of a plane."

"Really? How does that happen more than once? I mean, I feel like the first time would be enough to turn you away from the idea for good."

"You would think." Avery smiled and looked at her feet. He followed her gaze down and, incidentally, the chunk of wood she was hiding behind her leg. "You can drop the splinter."

She looked at the makeshift weapon in her hand and blushed, dropping it instantly. She noticed the blood from her hand had stained it. "Yea, I guess it wouldn't do much good against you or Thor." She said, feeling his gaze on her.

"You think you'd need to use it against me?"

"No!" Avery said immediately, a bit too loudly. Thor and Natasha looked back at them, pausing mid-spat to see what was going on with them. "I mean, yes, but no."

Her little outburst seemed to distract Thor enough to get him to focus his attention solely on her. He was a very large man, with very large biceps that looked liable to snap her in half, should he get the itch to. Her eyes flashed back and forth between his biceps and the hammer in his hand before settling on his face. "You are the woman from the plane." Thor took three large strides towards Avery. Steve immediately stepped in front of her, holding out his arm in a placating way towards the advancing man. "Where did you obtain such of powers?"

"Umm…" Avery bent her knees, trying to be subtle about grabbing her discarded weapon. The motion caught Steve's attention "Yea, about that, I didn't know that was going to happen."

"Who are you?" Thor advanced closer, seemingly oblivious to the glare on the Steve's face. Avery peeked around Steve's hulking form and made eye contact with Thor. She sidestepped him and held her hands out in front, very much aware of how stupid she was being. It was her goal, a very stupid one perhaps, to show him, all of them, that she meant no harm. She almost took a step back when she saw how closely Thor was looking at her, observing her features. "I know your face."

"No, I don't think you do." She kept her hands out, feeling that the placating motion was misplaced.

"Take a step back, Thor." Natasha said from behind him. She was holding her gun, although she wasn't pointing it at him. Not yet. Avery thought that if Thor kept at it, however, Natasha might just change her mind. "We can't afford her losing control again."

"I'm fine." Avery said, shooting a dark look over at Natasha. "Now that I know I need to control it all the time, I won't do anything. No lightning, no nothing. You have my word."

"I think the plane would beg to differ." Tony was back. He landed loudly next to Natasha, depositing a very disgruntled looking Loki at Natasha's feet. His hands were bound behind his back and there was a cut on his face, but otherwise he still looked smug and unharmed. Avery felt the sudden desire to punch him in the face, for some reason that she wasn't quite sure of. She thought he might have that effect on everyone. Tony's mask pulled back with a clicking noise, revealing his less than amused expression. The tone he used when he spoke, however, was still flippant. "Avery, care to share with the class."

Everybody turned to stare at her simultaneously. It was a bit creepy. Avery bit her lip and looked between all of them, choosing to look at Steve, who, unsurprisingly, was the least accusatory.

"I didn't mean to do it." Avery said, hoping that eventually she wasn't going need to preface things about her life.

"Quiet, Avery." Natasha snapped, eyes flashing down to Loki.

"Hold up." Tony walked up until he was standing right next to Avery. She fought the urge to immediately step back. "What can you do?"

She glanced at Natasha once more before she spoke, thinking it best to tell them the truth now, rather than waiting for things to get worse later. "I can make people reveal their secrets. Which in this case, means powers, I guess. I would like to point out, however, that I never knew I could do that."

Silence. Avery expected them to shout at her, say something about staying away from them, but they didn't. She winced, waiting for the inevitable. When the awkwardness stretched on, Avery cracked open an eye. In fact, instead of turning their anger on her, like people always did, Tony rounded on Natasha, anger written on his handsome face.

"Let me guess, this was Fury's idea."

"Director Fury…"

"Is she even an agent?" Tony turned his attention to Steve next. "Did you know about her?"

"I saw what happened with Dr. Banner." There was a bit of regret in his voice. "They never told me anything about what she could do."

"That's because it's classified. Neither of you needed to know."

"Director Fury didn't think we needed to know about her?" Steve folded his arms over his chest. "Someone who can force people to use their powers against their will…kind of a big deal."

"We've never dealt with someone like her before. There isn't a protocol for this. S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing the best it can."

"So, let's make our own protocol." Tony said, taking a few strides so that he was standing directly in front of Avery. "Did you mean to crash the plane?"

"No." Avery said instantly, latching onto this new course. Tony was blaming S.H.I.E.L.D. Avery could hug him. She would have if she didn't think it would instantly make things weirder than they already were.

"Will you do something like that again?"

"No, not if I can help it."

"Good enough for me." Avery smiled brightly at him, feeling the coils in her stomach loosening. "Good enough for you, kid?"

She nodded ardently. "Yes."

"Good, then why don't you ask Voldemort over there where he hid the tesseract?"


	11. Chapter 11

Jane Foster truly and genuinely liked Darcy Lewis almost all of the time. She knew people questioned the logic of keeping her around, to her face and behind her back, it should be noted. Scientists, for all their brains and intellect, were some of the worst gossips Jane had ever some across. Darcy knew nothing of real science, or much of political science for that matter, but there was a certain quality about her that kept Jane from finding a new assistant. It had nothing to do with the fact that Darcy knew about Thor and the existence of previously undiscovered realms of inhabitable planets. Jane considered that to be merely a fact. No, she kept Darcy around for entirely different reasons, although when asked she could never seem to quantify it into words.

"Uh, do I need to remind you who I am calling about?" Darcy was faking a British accent. It was so atrocious that even Jane, in her distracted state, could hear right through it. "Dr. Jane Foster."

There was mumbling on the other end of the phone. Darcy scoffed, pulling a face that was both haughty and comical all at the same time. Jane smirked and looked back down at the lab results in her hand, checking them again to make sure what she had found was right. It was. She knew it was, as she was rarely ever wrong about these sorts of things, but it seemed so absurd she had to go over the data again. She had done this a few hundred times and yet it still seemed impossible.

"Who? I'm sorry, did you just ask me who Dr. Jane Foster is?" Darcy lost the accent, although Jane didn't think the person on the other end ever really believed it in the first place. "She's only one of the greatest astrophysical minds of our generation. What's your name?" Another long pause. Jane finally looked up from her papers for good. Darcy was pacing the floor, phone gripped tightly in her hand. When she saw Jane looking at her with a concerned frown she made a thumbs up gesture. Jane was not convinced. "Let me speak to Director Fury."

Mumble.

"Agent Coulson."

Another mumble, louder and more authoritative.

"Anybody besides you."

Jane dropped her papers and stood up, holding her hand out for the phone. She liked Darcy, she truly did, but there were some things better left to more level heads.

"Hello?" Jane heard the person on the other end of the phone sigh.

" _Yes?"_

"I need to speak to someone about something I found in Avery Gudrun's blood."

" _S.H.I.E.L.D. has no record of a person with that name. Like I told your friend, I have no idea how you got this number…"_

"It was given to me by Agent Coulson." Jane snapped, trying to keep the bite in her voice to a minimum. "I have security clearance level 4. You will either help me or direct me to someone who can."

Silence. Jane didn't know if that was good or bad. She glanced at Darcy, only to see the brunette smirking and fanning herself with her hand.

"That was so hot, Jane."

"Shh." Jane hissed, covered the bottom of her phone with her hand.

" _Ms. Foster?"_

"Dr." Jane correct, almost automatically.

" _A plane will pick you up in ten minutes."_

"Thank you." Jane tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. She had just used all the authority she possessed, her big girl voice according to Darcy. She didn't want to sound as excited as a school girl as soon as she got what wanted before the person on the other end hung up. As soon as she was sure it was just her and Darcy she let out a triumphant noise and clapped her hands together. "Get your stuff. A plane is coming in ten minutes."

"Coulson is going to meet with you?" Darcy asked, leaning on one of the more expensive pieces of equipment in the observatory. Jane hurried over and removed Darcy's arms, shooing her towards where they both had their stuff pre-packed on the off chance Jane was able to get through to someone.

"Yes." Jane said, looking around at all the papers she had strewn about. She paused, thinking. "No. Not him. He's probably busy. Maybe. I don't know." She stacked everything up and threw it in the briefcase of hers that had seen better days. "Have you seen my…?"

"By the whirlydoo."

"Thank you."

"So, Janey," Darcy stood up and crept up behind Jane, leaning over her shoulder to look at the rest of the papers Jane was packing up. "I've been meaning to ask you."

"Eight…seven minutes Darce."

"I know, I know. Anyway, I haven't asked mostly because I've been too busy scoping out the science babes here, but I have to know."

"Yes?"

"Aren't you an astrophysicist?"

"Yes, Darcy, what are you getting at?"

Darcy pulled on her shoes, which she had kicked off the moment they got into the borrowed space, and fixed her with a very confused look. "The blood samples. That's biology right?"

"Technically, yes." Jane stopped what she was doing and looked at Darcy, waiting for her to get to the point. "But I took a special interest in this case."

Darcy went over to Jane's leather bag and pulled out the papers she had been pouring over for weeks. The files were thicker now that Jane had thought to add the third sample. It all looked like nonsense to Darcy, but Jane seemed to think she had found something extremely important.

"Does S.H.I.E.L.D. know you have the genetic sample from Thor?" Darcy asked, flipping the papers open to the last page.

"No." Jane pulled on her coat, fixing the sleeves and straightening her shirt underneath. That was her professional coat, the one she wore to make her seem older. "No they don't."

"Is that allowed?"

"Probably not."

"It's kind of creepy, you know, using his hair."

"Shut up." Jane blushed and looked away, pulling her hair into a neat bun. "The plane's probably here."

Darcy nudged Jane with her elbow, although she didn't smile at her like she usually did. Darcy's mocking smirk fell. "He'll come back, you know."

"I know." Jane said, her voice taking on the mournful sound that Darcy did her best to avoid. "At least, I think. He said he would. I don't know." Jane was babbling, causing Darcy to put her hand on her shoulder and squeeze. "This isn't about him. Not really. This is about Avery and what I found in her blood."

"You mean, what you found in her blood that matches what you found in Thor's hair, which is still totally stalkerish, by the way."

"Yes. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep!" She popped the 'p', which she knew Jane hated, and smirked at her. "Let's go tell S.H.I.E.L.D. the good news. They've got an Asgardian coming to dinner."

* * *

Loki blinked four times in the last twenty minutes. Avery knew this because she had been sitting across from him the entire plane ride, thoroughly uncomfortable with the way he constantly stared at her. She tried turning the table and staring right back at him. It wasn't really working and now she wished she hadn't tried in the first place.

Avery crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from Loki, her gaze accidentally landing on Thor, who was standing vigilantly above his brother. He caught her eye and immediately opened his mouth to say something, to which she responded by suddenly finding the back of Steve's head to be quite fascinating. She had already exhausted her mental analysis of all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents peppered around the plane, leaving her with very little options of distraction.

The pilot told them that they would be back at the Helicarrier before long, but would not say anything else beyond that with Loki present, not that it would have made things any easier. In Avery's mind it already felt like it was taking forever, as she thought she was liable to suffocate from all the tension at any moment.

Avery couldn't help but find it curious, and borderline hypocritical, that they wanted her to use her powers on Loki. In the thirty second conversation Avery had managed with Natasha before she was silenced with a well-practiced glare, they didn't see fit to tell her what she was looking for. Tony had mentioned something about a tesseract before Natasha shut him down, but Avery didn't even know where to begin with that sort of thing. Truth be told, she probably couldn't even pronounce it in a pinch.

She was trying not to be too antagonistic, as that was usually met with hostility she couldn't keep up with, but the longer she sat in the plane, the longer she was in an enclosed space with Thor staring at her and Loki smirking, or planning his next meal, she wasn't sure, the more irked she felt. She was already digging her fingernails into her palms to keep concentrated on not using her powers again. She didn't think it would turn out very well if S.H.I.E.L.D. kept her in the dark about yet another thing. Besides, she was sort of fond of the idea that Loki was being considered more of threat than her. He was the one in cuffs, after all.

She wasn't overly surprised or offended at the silence she was greeted with every time she asked a question. It was their M.O.. Mildly irksome, granted, and borderline repetitive, yes, but she was used to it. Her annoyance was mostly stemming from a lack of sleep and food. There was still a hitch to her muscles, a soreness that she couldn't shake from the medication and falling from a plane did nothing to help.

Natasha and Tony were stationed at the front of the plane, just behind the cockpit, whispering furiously back and forth. Avery had given up on trying to hear what they were saying. Steve, however, served as the perfect excuse for her to stand up and move away from Loki and Thor and their line of sight, or as much as possible in the small space.

She took a moment to get her bearings and walked over to him, smiling slightly as a greeting. He seemed tense, although he still returned her polite gesture. He turned so that his back was to the squabbling pair he had previously been listening to and folded his arms over his chest. He had the decency to lean down a little bit so that they could speak easier and Avery was struck by what he had said earlier, about being so old, although he didn't look it. It was the politeness that was weird. It was so rare, Avery found she was unsure of how to respond to it.

"He hasn't said anything since we got on the plane." Steve observed, simultaneously shooting a glare at Loki and saving Avery from thinking of how to strike up a conversation.

She glanced back at the black-haired man and noticed his reaction was not that of intimidation, but glee. Avery pursed her lips and turned back, feeling slightly unwell knowing he was looking at them like that.

"He's a creepy son of bitch, isn't he?"

Steve nodded, taking the moment to look at her a bit more closely. While it had bothered Avery the first time he had done it, when compared to Loki and Thor, she found she didn't mind so much. "They want you to interrogate him."

"I figured." Avery shrugged and instantly regretted it, as it made her muscles spasm. "Is that what those two are arguing about?" She sighed and focused down at her feet. They were covered in dirt from their little detour in the woods and she could feel that the blisters were on the verge of popping. Shifting her weight back and forth, wincing each time, she looked back up. "It seems like a bad idea, considering, but they probably won't listen to me."

An odd expression twisted his features, like he wanted to ask her something but thought better of it before he could say it. He looked away, scratching the back of his neck.

"You can ask." Avery said.

"It's not my business."

"Ask. I don't mind."

"When did you find out you could…" He trailed off, unsure of whether or not he should continue. He seemed to think he was wading into unwelcome territory, but Avery say anything to confirm.

"When I was seven, about." She moved a little closer, very conscious of Thor and Loki trying to listen in. She lowered her voice and continued. "One day it just came out of nowhere and it's been getting stronger and more annoying ever since."

"How old are you?" Steve asked and then immediately tried to backtrack. "That's really none of my buisness, I'm sorry."

"How old do you think I am?"

"That's a trap."

"Not really." Avery shrugged, smirking at bit. "What do you know about him?"

"Loki? Not much. Both he and his brother Thor visited earth in New Mexico."

"With Jane Foster."

"You know more than I than I do, then." Steve said, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Not much." Their conversation was starting to draw the attention of more than Thor and Loki. Natasha leaned back, arching her eyebrow. Tony peered around her side, looking between Avery and Steve with an amused look on his face that Avery didn't quite understand. He waggled his eyebrows and winked, causing both Avery and Steve to roll their eyes simultaneously.

"What are you two crazy kids talking about?" Tony asked, sidestepping a very perturbed Natasha. "Well one of you is a kid, the other is a nonagenarian."

"He seems too happy." Avery said, ignoring the jab at Steve, sensing that if someone didn't move the conversation along the tension would only keep building. "Doesn't he?"

"He is smirking too much for a man who just got his ass handed to him, yes." Tony agreed, looking at Loki for a moment before he looked down at Avery. "Crazy idea, and let me explain for a moment before you start arguing, but maybe you could find out why. Just a thought."

"Stark, we talked about this." Natasha said quickly.

"You talked. I ignored. Anyway, Avery, why don't you take crack at it?"

"Why don't you take a crack at shutting your mouth?" Natasha snapped, a seething look on face that made Avery's skin crawl. "We're not having this argument anymore. She's not doing anything right now, so you can just forget that snarky little comment you were going to make and sit down."

"I wasn't going to say anything. Did it look like I was going to say anything?" Tony asked Steve and Avery, a feigned look of innocence on his face. It didn't suit him. They glanced at each other and Avery noticed that Steve's jaw was clenched so tightly the muscle was showing.

"This isn't productive." Steve said, an authority in his voice that surprised Avery. She supposed it shouldn't be so shocking. He was a captain, after all. "And they can hear us."

"Is that supposed to intimidate me?" Tony asked. Avery thought it was meant to sound threatening, and it did, but there was a flippant quality to his tone, the sort that she thought he might have perfected after years of practice.

"It's supposed to make you take this seriously." Steve snapped, drawing himself up to his full and, admittedly, impressive height. "I can see that's a problem for you."

Avery glanced back at Loki and Thor, picking at her fingernails nervously. Loki, who had never bothered to hide his amusement, was leaned forward, listening to them intently. Thor moved closer to them, mirroring Steve's posture with his thick arms crossed over his chest. They were almost the same size. Tony was too, in his suit. Avery fought the urge to take a few steps back and distance herself. The desire burned deep in her stomach, flaring up like it used to when things got bad.

She had become a professional at running away. It was a skill she needed to perfect when she figured out that her powers caused problems wherever she went. It got worse once she was on her own, when there was no one to come up with reasonable enough lies to stay in town.

Her mother was so good at lying and she was so terrible at it. She missed her quite suddenly and completely. The feeling assaulted her so quickly she didn't know what to do with it. She picked at her nails more erratically, finding a bit of skin next to her cuticle and pulling at it until she felt a little prick of pain. She could feel the pressure behind her eyes and squeezed her hands together until they were white. Losing control wasn't an option. Not again.

"Avery?"

"What?"

"You spazzed." Tony said, giving her a very odd look. "You okay, kid?"

"Oh, sorry." Avery could feel how hot her face was. She touched her cheek, trying to be subtle, and turned away from the other three. "Maybe we should talk about them in private?" Avery suggested, trying to put the attention back on what they had been talking about before she spaced out. "When they can't overhear us."

Thor, who seemed to have grown tired of hearing them gossip right in front of them, strode towards them, a thoroughly put out expression on his face. "I have no ill will towards you and your people, why do you bicker like hens as if I cannot hear you?"

"We know you can hear us. This is the cool kids table though, so no drama geeks allowed. Sorry, i didn't come up with the rules."

"Hold on, Stark." Steve held out a hand, stepping out so that he was in front of the other three. Thor eyed him up and down, eyebrow raised. "We can't undervalu…"

"We're five minutes out." The pilot cut across their conversation, effectively ending any sort of discussion, meaningful and useful or not.

Natasha walked over to Loki, sneering at the audacity of him smirking up at her, and pulled out a pair of intimidating looking handcuffs from her belt. She waved them in front of his face. "Up."

"I was under the impression mortals were fond of using the word 'please'." Loki made even the most simple of words sound like there was some sort of hidden meaning to them, like they were a threat.

"You were wrong." Natasha grabbed Loki's arm and twisted, pulling him to his feet. She brought his arm up behind his shoulders like a chicken wing, squeezing his hand until it turned white. Something cracked in his arm and Avery tried not to show that she was both happy Natasha was so scary, and turning it around on someone else for once, and disgusted by the noise. "Any questions?"

"You have made your point inescapably clear, Agent Romanov."

"Good." Natasha brought his arm down behind his back and cuffed his hands together. She pushed him forward until he was in the middle of the plane, nodding at the two armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents positioned on both sides of the hatch. They took Loki by the arms and pushed him forward until he was at the opposite side from the rest of the group. He shot a very amused look over his shoulder before the agent shoved his head back to face forward. Thor was the only one who made a sound of protest.

"Miss Gudrun, you're next." One of the other agents stepped forward, holding out a very ominous looking metal cuff. It wasn't like the ones Loki wore. It was larger, more robust, with a humming sound that didn't seem quite right. The agent held it aloft, gesturing for her to come closer. She didn't move.

"What is that?"

"Director's orders."

"Why is it buzzing?" Avery asked, hiding her hands behind her back without even thinking about.

"Can I see that?" Tony plucked it out of the agents hand before he could receive an answer. He flipped it over, toying with the little knobs, tinkering with it in a way that Avery was sure he wasn't supposed to. "Compact electrical impulse generator, designed to incapacitate, not kill."

"That's for me?"

"I don't know anything more than what the director told me." The agent seemed like he was going to pee himself under all the scrutiny of the people on the plane.

"She's not wearing it." Tony said, dropping it back into the hands of the agent.

"Sir…"

"Something bad happens I'll knock her out."

"That's what the cuff is for." The agent glanced over at Natasha with an almost desperate look on his face. Avery didn't think he looked much older than her. She almost considered putting the cuff on just to cut him some slack and relieve him of all the staring the others were doing. Steve grabbed the cuff from the agent and held it up to his face, turning it over similar to the way Tony did, although Avery had the distinct impression he had no idea what he was looking at. "It safely incapacitates her without the possibility of," He paused when he saw the look on Tony's face. "Head trauma."

"Cool trick." Tony plucked the cuff out of Steve's hand. "Finders keepers." He crushed the cuff in his hand and threw it over his shoulder, narrowly missing hitting Thor in the face. The blond man stepped to the side, his seemingly permanent scowl deepening. Tony completely ignored him. "Avery, remember our little chat?" Avery nodded quickly, causing Tony to smile. "Then we're good."

"Sir, I don't think the director will…"

"Leave Fury to me." Tony waved his hand flippantly. "Wait a second, how old are you?"

"24."

Tony scoffed and turned back to the others. "I didn't know S.H.I.E.L.D. contracted out to kids."

Natasha, visibly annoyed by Tony, shoved past him and moved to the hatch of the plane. It shuddered for a moment as it landed, bouncing up and down briefly before it stilled. Avery expected the hatch to open immediately. When it didn't, she looked around, waiting for someone to move. "Everybody needs to put on masks."

Avery was handed a face mask attached to a small oxygen tank. She strapped it on, breathing in deeply to make sure it worked. She glanced back at the other three, noticing how both Thor and Tony refused the masks they were offered. The hatch opened, pulling all the air out of the plane. Avery breathed in deeply again, hands pressing the mask to her face. Despite the rush of wind coming in, Avery could still hear the sounds of Thor and Natasha arguing as they led Loki inside.

"I'm guessing the honeymoon's over for those two." Tony smacked Steve on the shoulder and didn't seem perturbed when Steve shouldered out of his grasp. "Let's go. I'm tired of wearing this suit. Maybe they have snacks."

He left Avery and Steve standing alone in the now empty plane. Steve let out a sigh through his mask and came to stand next to her. She noticed he didn't look as ridiculous as she felt wearing the mask. She scratched the edge and looked at her feet, leaving their metallic breathing as the only sound in the plane.

Sensing a bit of tension building, Avery blurted out the first thing that came to mind and regretted it instantly. "I am your father."

"What?" Steve looked back at her, confusion clearly written on the parts of his face that weren't obscured by the mask.

"It's a movie. Star Wars." Avery spoke quickly. "You know what, never mind." She walked down the hatch ramp quickly, avoiding looking at him like her life depended on it. "I wonder if they have those snacks Tony was talking about."

They were intercepted as soon as they walked inside. The agent, a much older man who looked like he wanted to be there about as much as Avery, held out his hands for the masks. Avery smiled awkwardly at him, which he didn't return, and walked down the steps he was pointing to. They were long and metal, leading further and further down. Into the belly of the beast, she thought to herself with a smirk. It was oddly thrilling walking around without an escort. She could do anything. She could run her nails down the wall and scratch it to hell. She could clean her boots on the edge of the step.

Maybe that's why they kept her guarded at all times. They knew she was secretly passive-aggressively rebellious.

Avery quelled the desire to turn right around and walk right back up the steps when she saw Director Fury waiting for her at the bottom. Steve stepped up behind her, blocking her even further from leaving.

"Gudrun."

"Nick, always a pleasure."

"I heard about the little mishap on the plane." He was not amused. His one eye was narrowed and his forehead vein seemed to be more prominent that usual. "Captain, the others are waiting in the command center."

Steve sidestepped Avery and started to walk down the brightly lit hallway before he stopped and turned back to look at her. She wished she could mentally communicate with him and tell him not to leave her alone with Director Fury, as she was about to receive the verbal ass-chewing of a life time. She almost whined when he continued to walk down the hallway and out of sight.

"I was told you were improving." Director Fury motioned for her to follow him. He did not walk the same way Steve had gone, leaving Avery to look that way longingly. She relished being alone with Fury almost as much as she relished her time with Natasha. Actually, that could applied to everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. except for maybe Clint Barton, who had been suspiciously absent for quite some time. She should ask about that. "Are you listening to me?"

Director Fury stopped walking causing Avery to practically run into him. "Yes. Something, something, something, improving, something, something."

"So, you weren't listening."

"No."

"I'll make it clear enough for you to understand then." He opened a door to his left and led Avery inside. He closed it behind him and gestured to the table in the middle of the room. It was surrounded by three chairs, padded chairs she noticed with happiness, and a pitcher of water and a box of donuts. She rushed over to them and grabbed the nearest glazed one she could find, shoving it into her face without much thought. "I don't like you being here."

She swallowed thickly and sat down in the chair. "Donuts go with milk."

"Water."

"I can see that."

"I don't like you being here, but that doesn't mean I can ignore your usefulness." Director Fury took the seat across from her and set down a file on the table in front of her. "Read."

Avery was hesitant to open it. The last time Director Fury had shown her a file, it was hers and she didn't like the outcome. "This doesn't contain papers that say I'm going to a federal prison or something does it? Because, if so, I'm sorry about the milk comment."

He rolled his eyes, and somehow the motion seemed even more sarcastic and patronizing when he did it. He flipped open the file himself and pushed it towards her. "Loki, son Of Odin…"

"As in?"

"Yes, that Odin." Director Fury pointed to a grainy picture papercliped to the manila file. "He used a portal created by the tesseract to enter an underground science facility. Before stealing the tesseract he killed all of the guards in the room except one and took Clint Barton hostage."

"He looks kind of sickly in this picture. How did he take Clint hostage?"

"That's one of the things you are going to find out."

"Oh." Avery sat back in her seat, reaching for another donut. It was comforting, being able to eat, and gave her something to focus on for a brief moment. She still wished they had milk.

"I don't like this any more than you do." He flipped one of the pages and tapped. "This is the list of the names of the people he's killed in the last two days. Eighty in total."

"Eighty?" Avery chocked a bit on her donut. "Wait, two days? I was at the facility, wasn't I? In the desert?"

"You were being housed in different part, yes."

Avery rolled her eyes and whipped her hands on her S.H.I.E.L.D. issue pants. "Great. So, you're actually trusting me to do this?"

Director Fury laughed and shook his head. "No, absolutely not. We have no other choice."

"This is a really bad idea."

"Yes it is."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"We need to know where the tesseract is." Director Fury stood up. "And we need you to find it. Agent Romanoff will be in shortly to escort you to the prisoner. Until then I suggest you familiarize yourself with the situation."

"This is bad, isn't it?" Avery asked, looking down at the picture of Loki and back up at him. "What's going on with Loki is serious."

"Yes, yes it is." The realism was oddly refreshing.

"I'm sorry you have ask me for help."

His eye twitched. "I am too. But we have no other choice, so let's make the best of this. Read." He pointed down at the file and turned around to walk back to the door.

"Have somebody bring me milk."

"The donuts are the extent of my kindness." Director Fury said, opening the door.

"That's only because it's illegal not to feed me."

"Unfortunately."

"So rude." Avery flipped through a few of the pages of the file. There wasn't much there. There were a few pictures of small town and one picture of Thor, from a distance and taken from what looked like a security camera. The list of people Loki killed was a few pages long. She didn't want to look at that page longer than she had to. The last pages were about the tesseract. It looked like a glowing block of ice. Avery tried not to be too unimpressed. "This is the tesseract?"

"Yes." Director Fury stepped out of the room, leaving her blissfully alone for half a moment before he came back in.

"What?"

"Don't even think about doing what you did on the plane to this aircraft."

"I wasn…"

"Read." He was gone again.

"So, so rude."

Still, she had donuts and she was blissfully alone for the first time in months. While it wasn't the exact scenario she would have liked, she couldn't deny the change was nice. And she wasn't handcuffed. Baby steps were probably all she could hope for at this point. She did crash a plane, after all. That tended to be frowned upon in all circles, secret government agency or not.


	12. Chapter 12

Avery tapped her fingers on the table rhythmically, chowing down on another donut. She had flipped through all the pages in the folder about a hundred times, pretending as if it meant anything to her, just on the off chance they were watching her with some sort of camera. She threw in a few contemplative 'hmms' for good measure and occasionally stroked her chin. She had seen that in spy movies.

She was an idiot.

There was an interesting bit about an eight-legged horse that she made a mental note to use if Loki pissed her off too much, which she considered to be a very real possibility. Avery didn't buy it and she thought it might have been slipped in by a disgruntled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with a mind to be spiteful. Still though, she didn't think a guy like Loki would take too kindly to the accusation that he liked to turn into a lady horse for giggles and give birth to deformed foals in his free time.

"What are you doing?" Avery jumped, dropping the folder on the table just as she got to a particularly juicy tidbit involving a lady named Sif and her hair. Her half eaten donut hung out of her mouth and a few stray crumbs tumbled to the table. "Very ladylike."

Natasha closed the door behind her, raising an eyebrow at the number of missing donuts. Avery glanced back down and felt embarrassed for a half a moment before she remembered how long it had been since she had eaten and how stressful her day had been. She shoved the last bit of food into her mouth, making sure to keep eye contact with Natasha, and licked her fingers for good measure, before she reached for another. She, in her quest to maintain eye contact with Natasha, missed the plate and grabbed at thin air for a solid thirty seconds.

An absolute idiot. She sighed audibly and scowled at the offending donut like she suddenly discovered it was poisonous.

"You've read everything?"

"None of this is making any sense to me." Avery admitted, feeling no shame about that little fact. She assumed that was why Natasha was there, to explain just exactly what was about to happen. "How much of this myth stuff is true?"

The red-head took a seat across from her, back ramrod straight, and placed her hands on the table. Avery glanced down at them and noticed her nails were manicured and sharp enough to gouge someone's eyes out. She was both very impressed and horribly alarmed. "Not much. I don't even know how much Thor and Loki know about their own stories. Loki will know enough to exploit it, I think, but other than that probably not much."

"So I shouldn't mention the whole horse thing?"

Natasha smirked and shook her head.

"Cool. I'm going to ask anyway, 'cause I have to know."

"I'm here to talk you through it." Natasha said, pulling the file towards her. "Director's orders."

"So, I just go in and ask Loki about the tesseract? If he doesn't tell me, then I use my powers?"

"Essentially, yes."

"Should be fun."

"He's dangerous, Avery."

"I know. Fury told me about Clint." Avery said, gauging her reaction. It was probably dangerous territory to be entering, but she couldn't help but be curious. She glanced down at the nails, talons, once again and thought for a moment if she should really be going down that road. She always understood that they were close, however, so Natasha was as good a source as any about Clint. Natasha's face twitched. "Are you okay?" They looked at each other, neither saying anything for a moment. "You know what, never mind. It's not my business."

"You aren't even tempted to you use your powers to find out?" Avery knew that Natasha was simply being nasty for the sake of being nasty after her comment about Clint. She didn't let that bother her enough for it to show on her face.

"No."

Natasha pursed her lips and leaned forward, lacing her fingers together under her chin. "I can't figure you out."

"And that bothers you?"

"Very much."Avery leaned forward as well, pushing the donut plate away before she could eat any more. She already had the strong inkling that she had eaten too much, if the gurgles in her stomach were anything to go on."If I had your powers I would use them all the time."

"You tried to kill me when I did it to you the first time we met." Avery reminded her carefully, hoping to avoid bringing up any sort of latent conflict.

"Which is why I can't figure you out."

"I'm confused." Avery said, feeling a bit disgruntled by this. She never really felt like she had the upper hand with anybody here, but at the moment she felt like she was being backed into a mental corner.

"You have all the power, yet you actively avoid using it." Natasha said slowly. Her blue-green eyes flashed and Avery immediately leaned back. "

"I've learned over the years that most of the time, all of the time actually, the stuff I find out isn't worth it."

"You couldn't possibly know if someone's secrets are worth it or not."

"I have enough experience." Avery said.

"In the foster system?"

"You read my file?" Avery asked and then realized it was the stupidest question she could ask. "Right, sorry, of course you did."

"It must have been hard for you, experiencing your powers without anyone there to help you with them. They must have been especially hard to control during puberty."

"I wasn't alone." Avery said, pulling her hands off the table. She placed them in her lap and squeezed them together. She knew Natasha could see she was upset, but she didn't want it to be blatantly obvious.

"Your mother died when you were thirteen. You have no other family, no father was put on your birth certificate, so it's safe to assume you had no one else to help you."

Avery dug her nails into the back of her hands, jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed. Natasha turned her head sideways and looked Avery up and down. She stared at her arms, seeming to be able to see through the sleeves to her tensely flexed muscles.

"I did alright." She didn't, but that was truly none of Natasha's business. "I don't like to talk about it, though, so if we co..."

"You were in fourteen different homes in four years, with multiple families claiming you were emotionally disturbed."

She had never heard that before. It was probably the Grant family. They had hated her. They had two sons, Garret and Gus, and both of them had claimed Avery liked to keep dead animals under her bed. She didn't. They just said that after she accidentally made them reveal that they were the ones that had stolen their mother's money to buy about a pound and half of weed. They fancied themselves some sort of drug empire in the making. Avery fancied them a pair of idiots. Regardless, she was only with them for about two weeks before they kicked her out.

"I never heard that." Avery admitted, cautiously.

"Does that bother you?" Natasha asked, digging, prodding, nudging. Avery narrowed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked. She stood up and started walking around the room, looking for the camera. There had to be a camera. There had to be a reason for Natasha asking her these questions, although Avery had no idea what those were. "Is Fury watching? Are the others? Is this like the Truman Show or something?"

"I'm not doing anything." Natasha stood up as well. She moved to stand in front of Avery, looking her up and down once again. She leaned forward and stared long and hard into her eyes, causing Avery to immediately step back as the other woman invaded her space. "You're upset."

"You're upsetting me." Avery said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're pupils are dilated." Natasha grabbed her arm and pulled her sleeve back, pressing two fingers to her wrist, completely ignoring Avery trying to pull her arms back. "Pulse elevated, skin clammy."

"Could you stop touching me?" Avery yanked her hand back and cradled it to her chest. "Weirdo."

"Loki will rile you up the same way."

And then it all made sense.

"Oh come on, that's what this was?" Avery asked, instantly relaxing once she realized what was going on. "You jerk." Without even thinking she threw out her hand and punched Natasha lightly on the shoulder. Her mouth dropped open in horror, hand frozen in midair. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I just got caught up in the moment. Please don't kill me."

Avery winced, closing her eyes, waiting for Natasha to knock her flat on her ass. When all she did was laugh, Avery stepped back even more, cracking open only one eye.

"What is that?"

"I'm laughing."

"That's what your laugh sounds like? That's horrifying." Avery said, sidestepping her to go back to the table. "That must make babies cry and grandmothers weep for a time when the world was a simpler place."

Natasha raised an eyebrow, looking her over once again. She seemed satisfied, for the time being. "If you can keep your cool like that with Loki, you should be fine."

"Should be?"

"I'll be there, just in case."

"That almost sounded comforting." Avery grabbed the file and tucked it under her arm. She straightened her clothes and ran her free hand through her hair, taking note of how tangled and ratty it was. She raked her fingers through the greasy strands before she gave up and twisted it up into a knot. She paused when she noticed Natasha staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing." She said quickly. Avery believed her briefly before she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"It isn't nothing."

"Do you know what you're going to ask Loki?" Natasha asked, expertly, or not so expertly considering Avery picked up on it immediately, changing the conversation.

"The tesseract." Avery said, running her hands over her face. She pinched her cheeks to bring back a little color, but she didn't think it helped make her appear any less exhausted looking. "And Clint."

"The tesseract." Natasha confirmed, moving towards the door. Avery did not think Natasha was going to say anything about Clint, but she knew that if she could, she would ask. She placed her hand on the handle, turning back to look and see if Avery was following her. She raised her eyebrows when she saw her still standing next to table.

"Oh, wait, we're doing this now? Like now, now?"

"No, next week."

"Wow, I'm coming." Avery rushed over, almost tripping over her own feet. Natasha held out an arm, blocking her from stumbling awkwardly into the hallway for a moment so she could look at her directly in the eye at close proximity. Avery assumed it was to intimidate her one last time before they let her loose.

"Gudrun," Natasha paused and immediately restarted. "Avery, you can't freak out in there. You need to stay calm."

Avery ducked underneath her arm and stepped out into the hallway, glancing around to see if anyone else was watching them. A few agents were stationed by the door at the other end of the hallway. They tensed when they saw her and Avery couldn't help but pull a face.

"I'm not going to freak out, Natasha." Avery said, glaring at the taller S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with vigor. "Is it that way?" She pointed towards the door the agents were guarding. It had to be important, if they were guarding it. "I'm not going to freak out." Avery said it again, more to herself, once Natasha started leading her down the hallway. She wasn't going to. Maybe if she told herself it over and over again, it would become fact.

* * *

They were keeping Loki in an isolated area. The walls seemed thicker and the number of guards increased as they went deeper into the belly of the ship. The number of people watching her made her uncomfortable, but she managed to keep her head held high. Natasha stopped once they reached a sliding door at the bottom of a large staircase. She pulled Avery to the side, leaning closer so that no one would be able to hear them.

"He will try and get into your head. You can't let him."

"I'll do…"

"Avery, we'll be watching the whole time. If something happens we'll come get you."

"Aw, Natasha, I didn't know you cared so much."

"Shut up."

"I'm sorry. I'm obnoxious when I'm nervous."

"What did I just say about being nervous?"

"Maybe you should stop making me nervous, Natasha. Ever think about that?" Natasha grimaced, apparently not convinced.

Avery smiled despite the lack of faith Natasha had and ducked through the door.

The room was large and drafty, with walkways on all sides. There was a control panel directly to her left, along with a rather large cache of weapons and things that looked like they were for subduing. The middle of the room was the most interesting. There was a large circular glass cell, supported by massive metal hooks and thick steel cables that were wider than both her calves combined. Loki, who seemed extremely unsurprised to see her, stood up from his seat and eyed her with curiosity.

He seemed to make up his mind about her rather quickly, judging by the way his face shifted from curious to gleeful in a matter of milliseconds.

Loki smirked at her from behind the glass, watching every movement she took. She moved to the left, slightly, and his eyes followed her. She flexed her fingers and looked around the room. Someone had set a chair out, which she took a seat in, and crossed her legs professionally. In her mind it was very smooth, but in reality she flailed for a bit and dropped her folder onto the floor with a resounding smack that sounded like an anvil dropping in the obnoxiously quiet room.

"Shit." Avery cursed, gathering it up. She could feel his gaze on her, burning and intrusive. She didn't dare look back at him until she was sure she would be able to do so without fumbling around. She was supposed to be looking like she wasn't freaking out. Obviously, she wasn't off to a great start. She steeled her expression and looked up at him. "Sorry."

Avery froze.

Loki smirked even more and leaned forward so that he could place his hands behind his back, looking her up and down.

"Wait, why am I apologizing to you?" Avery ignored the superior look that found a home on his face and straightened her back. "Don't look at me like that."

He communicated through smirks, apparently. Avery found herself disliking him even more.

"I assumed they would send the assassin."

"You know what they say when you assume." Avery felt a rush of supremacy when he didn't immediately respond to her. "You'll make an ass out of you and me."

"A Midgardian saying. You will forgive me if I do not find it amusing."

"I thought you were the God of Mischief and Lies." Avery said, finding no offense in what he said. He wasn't going to get to her. She wasn't going to allow it. Subconsciously, she inwardly cringed. Outwardly she twisted her face up so that it looked both serious and intelligent. Or at least, intelligent enough to make Loki think she knew what the hell she was doing. "I would think you would find any sort of joke amusing." She tried to mock him by making her voice over the top silky, but all she got in return was a raised eyebrow.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit."

"You know who said that?" Avery asked, smugly it should be noted. When he didn't indicate his interest in hearing her response, she continued anyway. "A Midgardian. Yea, bummer right? You quoting a Midgardian? How embarrassing."

Technically speaking, she wasn't entirely sure what a Midgardian was, but whatever. The way he said it with disdain made her think he thought it was akin to being something along the lines of pond scum, so she was all too willing to throw it back at him, whether it was an insult or not.

"Amusing." Loki removed his hands from behind his back and moved closer to the glass. He looked like a shark in a tank, sizing her up. He didn't appear to be very impressed by her and for once Avery was angry at the thought. She looked up at the camera nestled in the corner of the room, making eye contact with it, knowing Natasha was probably on the other side watching her intently. Avery had the fleeting image of the redhead chewing on her nail, before she realized that was absolutely ridiculous. Natasha only got nervous about one thing and one thing only. Avery wasn't even supposed to know what that thing was, as a matter of fact, so she forced herself to focus on Loki. "Tell me, Avery, have you come to question me? Or simply provide me with entertainment until Agent Romanoff comes back."

"I have." She said simply, thinking it best not to lie to the liar. "The first one."

"And so my reputation precedes me, it seems." She wanted to smack that smarmy little smirk off his face. They stared at each other for a moment before Avery held the folder up and shook it.

"No not really. Everything I need to know is right here." She said.

"You are incredibly smug for someone who has so little control they have to keep you on a leash like an animal." Loki's mouth twisted around the words.

"You do realize you're the one in a giant turtle tank." She pointed out, although his words were already worming their way into her brain. She dropped the folder onto her lap and leaned forward, seeing her own reflection in the glass of his little prison. "Not me."

She looked a mess, with wildly dirty hair and smudges of dirt all over her face and down the part of her neck that was exposed. She pulled the neckline up, although she didn't think he was even remotely interested in that sort of thing, and sat back so that she couldn't see herself anymore. There was no point in looking at her crazy self, when she could be looking at the only other thing in the room likely to be crazier.

"A temporary predicament, I assure you."

Avery rolled her eyes in an over the top and obnoxious manner, noticing that he narrowed his eyes when she did that. "What?"

Loki smiled wickedly and she realized the mistake she had made. "My brother was never very smart, but even he should know who you are."

"I'm not anybody to either of you. So you can just get that thought out of your grease addled brain. We aren't here to talk about me." Avery said warily, bitingly. He noticed and his lips curled, making her think for a moment that she might be getting to him. When the same smirk returned to his face, she realized she was wrong.

"What are we here to talk about, then?" He was definitely mocking her.

"You." She said, making a face. "Like where you hid the tesseract."

He seemed like he was going to tell her, briefly, but then decided against it. "You're going to have to make me."

That smarmy son of bitch. Avery clenched her hands into fists and stood up, setting the folder down on her vacated seat. She walked towards the cell until she was practically touching it with her nose. He stood up to his full height, which dwarfed hers, and extended his arms outward. He was toying with her and she found, quite suddenly, that she hated it.

"You're an asshole."

"Your insults mean nothing. I have been called worse by people far more important than you, I assure you."

"Just because the Queen of England may have called you something rude, doesn't change the fact that you're an asshole."

He laughed. It was almost as horrible as Natasha's laugh. It made her chest tighten with panic. He knew what he was doing, knew what to say to make her nervous and unable to do her job.

"I'm waiting."

"I can see why nobody likes you."

"I am still waiting, Avery. Make me."

There was something about the tone he used, about the way his eyes were filled with mirth that made her freeze. Loki was up to something. She felt idiotic, when she realized what was happening. He was playing her and she was doing and saying exactly what he wanted her to.

"I would rather you just tell me."

"And I would prefer if I wasn't forced to breathe the same air as this Midgardian filth."

"You keep using that word like its a bad thing."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Ignorant little fool."

"You're planning something."

"Did you figure that out all on your own? Wonderful, Avery, truly wonderful."

"Okay, I get it, you think I'm an idiot."

"I think you're a puppet."

She dug her fingernails into her palm and glared at him, wishing she could reach through the glass and punch him in the face. He deserved it. His face was the sort that was just begging for a fist and she was all too willing to oblige.

"I'm not going to fall for that."

"For what, exactly?"

"You're tricking me. Lying to me just to watch me squirm."

"Are you squirming?"

"Slight fidgeting, maybe." Avery said, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing her face into a very defiant expression. "You aren't nearly as intimidating as you think you are."

"You are trying to lie to the God of Lies. Not a very good plan, I do have to say."

Avery fought the urge to walk out of the room. "I'm going to do it now."

"I'm still waiting, Avery."

"Stop saying my name."

"Avery."

That was the final straw. She unclenched her fists and looked at him, focusing as hard as she could. It started as a slight tingling in her chest, a tightness that felt both uncomfortable and familiar all at the same time. She concentrated, harder than she ever had before. Loki took a step back, eyebrows raised. When nothing happened, she concentrated even more, closing her eyes and extending her hands outwards.

"Clever trick, but you don't expect it to work on me, do you?"

Avery cracked open one eye, but didn't stop concentrating. Her head pulsated, the feeling of pressure building until she felt like it was going to explode. Loki tilted his head to the side, the façade of humor cracking ever so briefly. It was back almost as soon as it had left, making Avery's blood boil with anger.

He was really starting to piss her off.

"Pathetic."

She opened her eyes and stared at him, making eye contact pointedly as she felt the familiar buzz around her brain. It wasn't working. She pushed harder, the pressure behind her eyes so strong it hurt.

"You wish to know where the tesseract is."

She fought the smile on her face and kept pushing, taking a step forward so that she could place her hands on the glass. She wished she could see what her powers looked like, wished, for the first time ever, that she could see what they did to the person she was using them on. She always imagined them like snakes wrapping around the person's head and neck, squeezing the information out of them.

"Tell me."

"I will not." Loki said simply. It was like cold water was dumped on her head. She dropped her hands immediately, disappointment washing over her. She felt like a popped balloon, deflating with disappointment. "Because I do not know where it is."

"How can you not know where it is?"

"I would think it is fairly self-explanatory. I do not have it, obviously, therefore I do not know where it is. I sent it away. Do I need to spell it out for you again?"

"Now you're just being nasty for the hell of it."

"I answered your question, did I not?"

Avery pursed her lips. He was technically correct, if he was telling her the truth, which she didn't see how he wouldn't be. Unless, of course he was able to resist her powers. The thought didn't settle well with her.

"Are you lying to me?"

"I didn't think that was possible with someone like you. You're ability prevents that. Or maybe, it doesn't and you are just too naïve to know what you're truly capable of. "

"How would you…" Avery paused, taking a few steps back. If he wasn't in his glass box, she was certain he would be stalking towards her. "You don't know me. You don't know anything about me."

"But I do. I know that you have so little control you can't even be around other people without using your abilities. You are weak and they can see that. They use you and when you have served your purpose they will throw you away like your mother threw you away. You wouldn't know how to function without someone pulling your strings and the moment they get cut, you will be lost."

Avery took another step back and tripped over the chair. She landed on her backside painfully, although she hardly noticed.

"Stop."

"You are nothing to them but a tool for their own means and desires."

"Please, stop." Avery fought the urge to put her hands over her ears, as she moved back from him, as if getting farther away meant he wouldn't be able to speak to her anymore.

"Pathetic, truly pathetic."

Avery hit her back against something, a metal railing she thought. She reached a hand up to grab the top and hauled herself off the ground, keeping her eyes on Loki the entire time.

"We're done." Avery said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"This is going to be fun."

She made eye contact with him once more and, upon seeing the wicked smirk on his face, fled the room before he could say anything else.


	13. Chapter 13

Avery wanted to cry. She felt the desire flare up in her chest the moment she escaped, hot and embarrassing, but when she finally allowed herself a little time to cry in peace, nothing came out. She slid down the nearest wall and pulled her knees to her chest, burying her face against her legs and wrapping her arms around her feet. She only needed a moment, she thought, before she could stand back up, wipe her face and pretend like nothing happened. Only a moment of ugly crying before she would be okay, but even that wasn't going according to plan.

She shoved her face into her knees until her eyes hurt, groaning so loudly she thought Loki, and Natasha and all the agents in the observation room that she was certain existed despite her not being able to see it, would be able to hear her. There was something cathartic about crying, something soothing, and she was disappointed with not being able to. She even tried pinching herself, which felt a smidge desperate and stupid almost as soon as she did it, before she leaned back and gave up.

It was easy to tell herself that she wasn't going to let Loki and his misguided delusions of familiarity get to her, but she already felt like a large pile of crap warmed up in a microwave a few times after what he said to her. And that was without really thinking about the fact that her powers, which were generally a nuisance, didn't even work.

She kicked her legs out and stared at her S.H.I.E.L.D. issue boots. Still uncomfortable as hell, but she thought if angled correctly she might be able to land a kick solid enough to leave a mark on Loki's face. At least then she would feel some sort of satisfaction.

"Avery?"

Avery jumped, slamming the back of her head into the metal wall with a solid thud. She hastily wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, out of habit more than anything, and stood up, using the wall behind her as an anchor. Steve looked uncomfortable, although there was something about the expression that led her to believe it had nothing to do with finding her groaning on the floor like a malfunctioning rumba.

"Steve, hi."

She didn't know why he was here. He was supposed to be with the others, not standing there staring at her. She just wanted to cry, or attempt to cry and fail, in peace for five minutes. She didn't think that was too much to ask for.

"You're bleeding."

"What? Where?" She had the sudden image of herself covered in blood before she reminded herself that that was ridiculous.

"Your nose is bleeding." Her nose. How trivial and not at all life-threatening. She blushed at her overreaction and looked away, blotting at her nose with the end of her sleeve. It was stupid, really, considering he had already seen the offending plasma, but she still felt a rush of embarrassment course through her.

"At least this uniform can't get any worse looking." She attempted to make a joke. It was awkward when Steve didn't laugh.

"What happened?"

"I don't know." She admitted, pulling her sleeve back to check the blood. "Is it gone?"

"You missed a bit." He gestured to her check. She scrubbed it and sighed, realizing she probably just made it worse.

"I look like a Picasso painting."

"Your face isn't nearly distorted enough for that."

"Only slightly distorted."

"I didn…" He instantly tried to take back the insult, which wasn't even really an insult at all. Avery shook her head and pulled her sleeves over her fingers.

"I was joking." She said wearily. "What are you doing here, by the way? Not that I don't want to see you, but shouldn't you in Fury's war room, discussing strategies or something." She finished, realizing that some of her frustration at what just happened what showing through.

He looked away. Maybe he thought it would be less suspicious if he did so, but all it achieved was heightening Avery's curiosity. "No reason."

"That's totally the truth and not remotely suspicious at all."

He looked back at her and smiled. It's much more pleasant than Loki's, which bordered on Hannibal Lector psychopathy, and not remotely mocking or predatory. "Walking clears my head."

"Anything bad?"

"It's not anything good."

Avery made a noise at the back of her throat and leaned back against the wall. "That always the case, isn't it?" She said, hand trailing up to her face to check to see if her nose was still oozing blood. It wasn't, but now she was paranoid.

"What happened with Loki?"

It was a very natural and not at all intrusive question, but it instantly caused her guard to spring back up. "Nothing."

"So it's not the reason your nose is bleeding?"

"It's probably the altitude. I mean, this ship was built by S.H.I.E.L.D. so it probably isn't even properly pressurized."

"I'm not going to even try and pretend like I believe you."

They stood in silence, staring each other down, before she caved. "It's never happened before. I didn't even feel it."

"It was your powers?"

"I would assume so. It's not like Loki sucker punched me when I wasn't looking. Although he seems like the kind of guy who would do that."

A door opened to the left, causing both Avery and Steve to turn around. Avery was thankful until she saw Natasha stalking towards her, scowl etched deep on her face and hands clenched into fists at her sides. Avery braced herself for the lecture and when Natasha didn't immediately start in on her, she knew that something was wrong.

"That snake." Natasha hissed, pushing past Avery and Steve. She took the stairs two steps at a time, almost going through the door that led to Loki before she stopped and turned back around, eyes blazing. "You're bleeding."

Even though she logically knew she had cleaned off as much as possible, she still reached a hand up to cover her nose. She turned to the side and wiped at it, dabbing at the nonexistent blood until she was sure there wasn't anything but light staining left. "Like I told Steve, it's not anything. My brain might be melting out through my nasal cavity, but seriously, no big deal."

"What happened in there?"

"You were watching." Avery said plainly, entirely unwilling to go through it again. "Pretty self-explanatory."

"He shouldn't have been able to resist your powers." Natasha said and for once Avery did not detect a hint of blame being hurled at her. How refreshing.

"I don't know if he did." Steve pointed out, seeming surprised by the looks both Natasha and Avery gave him.

"Explain."

"What he said lined up exactly with what he told Thor. He said he didn't know where the tesseract was."

"So he lied twice."

"Or he told the truth twice. Either way, I don't think we can assume he has the tesseract."

"That's what his whole game was. What else would he be playing at?"

"I think we should focus on the scepter."

"Scepter? What scepter?" Avery asked.

"Stark and Banner are already working on it. They haven't been able to find any traces of the tesseract or pinpoint the scepter's power source."

"Wait." Avery turned back to look at them, unsure of whether or not she had heard Natasha correctly. "What do you mean Tony and Dr. Banner are trying to find the tesseract? What the hell was I in there for? Giggles? A little stress relief for you guys after a hard day? I bet you all found it quite amusing to watching me fall flat on my ass, again, and prove, again, that I have about as much control and ability as a cat in a dog show."

"We needed to see if your abilities would work on him. As far as we could tell, you were the best chance of finding it quickly." Natasha said simply, as if Avery had no reason to be upset. "That didn't work, so now we have to go to plan B."

"Which is?"

"Me."

"Great. This is just fantastic, Natasha. You could have gone in from the very beginning and saved us all this giant waste of time."

"We had no reason to believe he would be resistant to you."

"He's the God of Lies and Mischief."

"And you compel people to tell the truth."

"For the last time, that isn't how it works." Avery was probably being suicidal by taking a step towards Natasha, but she couldn't help it. Her hands clenched into fists of their own accord, her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Both of you need to calm down and take a step back." Steve pushed himself between them, putting an arm on both of their shoulders to keep them back.

"We would know how it works if you had ever been bothered to try hard enough to gain control." Natasha bit back. There was the blame again. Avery should have known it was too good to be true that Natasha didn't find her at fault.

"Maybe I would been more inclined to do better if you hadn't kept me locked up for months like a criminal."

"You were hardly locked up. You were welcome to move about the training facility as you pleased and if you had ever shown any signs of improvement, you would have been cleared for field work much sooner. The only reason you even got to leave base with Agent Barton is because he asked special permission."

"Really, Natasha, that's what you're going with?"

"Avery, stop." Steve gently pushed Avery back from Natasha even more, the pressure from his hand increasing. "This isn't going to help anything."

"Tell her that." Avery snapped, pointing to Natasha over Steve's shoulder.

"I'm telling you both."

"This is wasting time." Natasha said haughtily, as if she had been taking the high road the entire time. Avery shot her a dark look as she shrugged out of Steve's grasp so that she could move away from them both. She would have kept walking if she didn't think some S.H.I.E.L.D. agent wouldn't pop out and escort her to some other cave-like room isolation room. "Gudrun, we'll talk about this later."

Avery didn't like that Natasha was speaking to her like she was about five years old and had just decided to finger paint all over her freshly painted wall. She didn't think it was her fault, though, not this time, so instead of responding to the scold with the usual amount of remorse, she simply felt angry. "Well, when we do, I'm sure you'll find something else to blame me for. Like global warming. Sorry, that was my bad. And Watergate, I'm sure I had something to do with that too. Oops. I guess I can't do anything without S.H.I.E.L.D. there to hold my hand and make sure I don't screw everything up."

Natasha walked down the steps and through the door, giving Avery one last disgruntled look as she went, without saying anything else.

"She's like an angry house cat." Avery muttered, forgetting for a moment that Steve was standing right there. She realized, almost as soon as she had said it, and instantly felt bad. "I mean, the sort of house cat that is totally lethal and still quite lovable in its own very odd, alarming way."

"Are you okay?" Steve asked when she seemed inclined to continue her babbling.

"No. No I'm not." Avery ran a hand through her hair. "Did you watch the…"

"Interrogation?

"I was going to say train wreck, but yea."

"Just because it didn't go as planned, doesn't mean it wasn't useful."

"It was a total disaster." Avery moaned, dropping her head to her chest. "You heard everything?"

Steve nodded. There was something about the knowledge that all of them had witnessed that little scene that felt like Loki was personally nailing in the last nail of her coffin. "Director Fury thought we would learn something."

"Did you? Did you all sit around eating popcorn and laughing at the fact that Loki managed to exploit the one fact about me that I would like to keep quiet in the first five minute conversation with him? I bet you all found that hilarious." Avery snapped unintentionally, feeling like all of her nerves were shot. She groaned and looked up at him, pushing herself off the wall with her elbows. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

Avery wanted to argue but she didn't. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I was going to," He paused, eyes wide. "Nowhere. Just going nowhere."

"Is that some sort of life mantra?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Because you're totally a terrible liar." Avery said simply, causing him to smile. "Look, you don't have to tell me, but at least let me walk with you for a little bit?"

Steve looked at her like he was debating with himself. She didn't exactly blame him, but she still rolled her eyes at the amount of time it took him to decide. He nodded at her after a moment, seeming to make up his mind. "Okay, but you have to keep quiet."

"Why? Are you we going somewhere we shouldn't?"

"Technically, I haven't been given the same security restrictions as you."

"So technically yes, we shouldn't be going there."

"If you want to look at it that way."

"Wicked." Avery clapped her hands together and moved to stand next to him, mood instantly improving. He eyed her up and down, odd expression on his face for a brief moment before it disappeared. "I didn't think someone who wore the American flag on his chest would be okay with breaking the rules."

"There's a lot about me that you don't, Ma'am."

"Oh gross, don't call me ma'am. It makes me sound like a middle aged woman who hits on the neighbor kid." She started walking down the hallway, despite not knowing where she was going. She felt better with each step she took that got her farther away from Loki. It was probably the equivalent of taking a sugar pill and thinking her headaches were cured, but she decided not to think about it too much. When Steve didn't follow her, she turned to look back at him. The odd look was back. Avery froze. "What?"

Steve seemed to realize he was staring and immediately corrected himself. "You're going the wrong way."

"Then lead the way, Captain."

"Steve."

"Avery." He rolled his eyes and smiled at her, pointing down a side hallway that she completely missed. She leaned back, eyeing the hallway with suspicion. "That looks ominous."

"Remember what I said about keeping quiet?"

"Oh, right." She made a gesture like she was zipping up her mouth. "You won't even know I'm here."

He severely doubted that.

* * *

Avery kept her word for the first ten minutes, which impressed Steve. She stuck close behind him, not saying a word until he stopped in front of the elevator that led down to the lower levels of the ship. He was surprised that no one was there asking for id. He expressed this notion to Avery and she simply shrugged, stepping forward to press the lowest button with enthusiasm. She was enjoying this.

She was a bit hard for him to understand. Most of the people he had encountered since he woke up from the ice had confused him, but that was in the way people always confused him. It was the normal confusion, the kind he could brush off quickly. But Avery wasn't like them. She carried herself differently, like she was just waiting for something bad to happen to her. Her comment about being locked up didn't sit well with him, and he wanted to ask her, but kept his mouth shut out of respect.

The elevator was so smooth when it reached the bottom floor, Steve almost didn't realize they'd stopped moving. He mentally added it to the list of things that had improved. He was starting to lose track. He stepped to the side to allow Avery to step out first. She leaned out to look, holding out her arm to stop him. He could very easily step sideways and out into the hallway, but he humored her. Maybe if she was in a better mood she would be able to control her powers better. S.H.I.E.L.D. probably hadn't even considered that.

"We're good." She said, pulling her arm back. "So, what's down here?"

Steve didn't know what he was looking for, exactly, but he thought he would recognize it when he saw it.

"I'm not sure exactly."

"Mystery, I like it."

"So where are you from?" That seemed like a safe enough question and when she didn't make a face, he knew he was in acceptable territory. All of this was in her file, but he thought she might find it better if he didn't already know it all. He could pretend, at least.

"New Mexico."

That was where Thor first touched down. Purely coincidental. It had to be.

"I've never been. Is it nice?"

"It's hot. A little dusty, but otherwise it's really nice. Winter is pretty nice." She pulled her long blonde hair out of its messy bun and ran her fingers through it. They got stuck a few times, which frustrated her enough for her to yank it back into an even messier bun that left strands hanging all around her face. "I'm going to shave my head."

She was joking, he hoped. "That would be..."

"I won't. My head is too funny shaped for that." Avery wrapped her finger around one of the strands. "It would be funny looking though. Sort of like an awkward cue ball."

Steve stared at her. She was being very odd, even he knew that despite only knowing her briefly. She seemed so upset not ten minutes ago and then now she was smiling and laughing. He wanted to point this out to her, to see if she realized it as well, but kept his mouth shut, waiting for her to say anything else. She looked up at him, scratching the back of her head, before she shrugged her shoulders and turned away. He caught a glimpse of a flash of something else on her face, something he couldn't quite place. It increased his confusion about her tenfold.

"I think it's this way." Steve said, clearing his throat awkwardly and pointing down the hallway.

"You don't know what we're looking for." Avery reminded him.

"I'll know it when I see it."

They walked down the dimly lit hallway for a few more minutes, silence washing over them. Avery hummed quietly to herself, loud enough that only they could hear it. When Steve questioned her about it, she simply said that it was theme music and that it seemed appropriate. He didn't know what to say to that, so he kept his gaze forward and his mind from wondering too much about her. She certainly inspired curiosity.

They stopped at a door that look promising. Steve gestured to it, holding his hand up to his lips to make sure she didn't make a noise. She nodded, leaning against the wall and waited for him to open the door. She kept watch, even though he didn't tell her to, and didn't say anything about the fact that in order to get inside he needed to break it open. The metal groaned, echoing down the hallway. Avery glanced at him and ran up to the nearest intersecting hallway and peered down it, using the corner as an anchor to lean out.

"Nobody." She ran back, ever so slight smirk on her face. "This is exciting, I have to say."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"I'm not." She deadpanned and for a moment he believed her until she nudged him with her elbow as she ducked under his arm. He replaced the door as best he could and tried his best to ignore her whispered comments. "I'm sure nobody will notice that."

"I'm sure nobody noticed your humming."

"Steve, everybody knows that you can't break in somewhere without theme music."

Steve did his absolute best not to laugh. "Oddly enough, I've broken in plenty of places and theme music was never involved."

"Then you weren't doing it right."

He shook his head and crouched down, pressing his body back against the narrow shelf to his left. Avery followed his lead, humming forgotten for the time being, and waited for him to tell her where they were going. He didn't actually know, and he hoped it didn't show on his face, but he walked down thin line of shelves. The room was bigger than it first appeared on the outside, with shelves, barrels, and stacks on stacks of crates and containers as far as he could see. Avery let out a low whistle once she saw how much was in the room and leaned closer to him so that she could whisper, louder than she probably thought, up at him.

"Did you know all this was in here?"

He wanted to say yes, but seeing the knowing look on her face, he couldn't even pretend. "No."

"You're the best guesser in history, then."

"Shush."

"Right, sorry." She made the zipping gesture again and crouched back down, flapping her hand at him to go back to what he was doing.

He crept along the shelf, keeping his back against it. It felt weird to him, both comfortable and foreign all at the same time. He had done this countless times, and yet there was something about it this time that made it harder for him. It certainly wasn't Avery who, despite her constantly changing moods, was the most normal person he had come across in , that wasn't entirely true. She was very odd in her own way and he could see why people would dislike her for what she could do. But she hadn't even attempted to use her powers on him once and he didn't think she was going to any time soon. He glanced down at her and eyed the bottom of her nose, seeing the red stain. She noticed him staring and quirked her head sideways

Steve hurriedly looked away and kept moving forward until he got to a large shelving unit at the end of the first row. He looked up, counting six shelves all the way up to the ceiling, each covered in boxes and crates with the same label on them.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Avery wiped the dust of the crate at her eye level. "What is all this?"

"I don't know." Steve moved down the line just a bit, counting the containers and taking note of their shape. "But I think I have an idea. Come on."

He moved swiftly down the aisle and turned the corner at the end and instantly doubled back, waving his arms at her to stop. He hadn't counted on their being a catwalk with an armed guard on it. They had probably already heard them. He pointed to her to hold her spot, feeling relieved when she did without any arguments. Crouching back down and using the shelf to balance, he slunk sideways until he could just see the outline of the guard. It was only one and by the looks of him, he wasn't very observant if he didn't notice Avery and her yell-like whisper. Still, he thought it would probably be better if she stayed put.

Steve leaned back and shuffled back towards Avery, wincing as his shoes made a slight squeaking noise on the metallic floor. She raised her eyebrows and waited for him to say something. He pointed towards the door and she thankfully understood. She nodded and sank down to a crouching position that was so low her knees almost touched the floor and moved back to the door.

It wasn't the smoothest he had ever seen but it would do. She practically fell into the door, barely managing to recover without making any more noise. She turned back around after a moment and smiled widely, thumbs up.

He turned back around and crept back to the nearest container. He hoped he wasn't right about what was inside, but he didn't think he was that lucky. Peering through the gaps in the shelf at the guard, he stood up as quietly as he could. The buckles made a popping sound as they snapped open, making him wince, but once he saw what was inside, he didn't care if the guard found him and Avery or not.

He grabbed the gun and threw it over his shoulder, slamming the lid shut.

"Are we not being quiet any more or…"

"It doesn't matter."

Steve wasn't sure if he was angry or disappointed, both perhaps. Avery clearly didn't feel the same way, or if she simply didn't understand what it meant, but he did and it made his fists curl around the gun until he dented it. He picked up the door with his free hand and waited for Avery to scurry through before he snapped it back into place, a little crooked but still unnoticeable to someone passing by.

"What is that?" Avery asked once they were far enough away from the door that Steve didn't think they would be overheard by the guard, who was, quite frankly, the worst he had ever come across.

Steve debated lying to her before he remembered that she had never done so to him. He thought for a moment that she might be using her power. He looked down at her and stared at the red rimmed area under her nose and instantly regretted assuming that, feeling his cheeks heating up as if she could see what he was thinking.

"It's pretty similar to a Hydra weapon."

"Hydra?"

"They haven't told you anything have they?" Steve was a bit shocked that someone who supposedly could access all the secrets they want, knew next to nothing about who she was with or what was going on.

"No."

He saw the look on her face and felt more regret. He didn't exactly know what to say to her. In fact, he was impressed they'd been able to speak to each other this long without him saying something that she would take the wrong way. Back in his day, his original day, he couldn't go five minutes without stuttering over his own words and making a complete fool of himself. He settled for the only thing he could think of. "You can come with me, if you'd like."

She blinked quickly, as if she didn't quite understand what he was offering her. "Where?"

"To Banner's lab. Find some things out for yourself."

"Dr. Banner. As in the guy who I got kicked off a plane for making eye contact with?"

"Yes, I guess so."

"That probably isn't a good idea."

"I trust you." Steve said, without really thinking. He wasn't sure if it was true, but it seemed like the sort of thing she needed to hear, if only just to calm her down for a little bit.

"You don't know me." She reminded him, a bit of realization dawning on her face as she realized what he was doing.

"No, I don't. But you are the only person I've met since waking up from the ice that hasn't talked down to me just because I'm a little old."

"More than a little old." Avery said, smirking good naturedly at him.

"Thank you." He switched the gun over to his other shoulder and started walking down the hall, noticing that when she followed him, her steps were a little lighter.

"We could make a deal, if you want." She offered, catching up to him with a little effort.

"A deal?"

"Yea, I won't say anything snarky about the fact that your from before the advent of the microwave oven, and you won't treat me like I'm a ticking time bomb."

"I don't think you are."

"You're actual opinions weren't part of the deal."

"I can't make amendments?"

"Nope. Sorry, not allowed." Avery looked down at her feet, voice getting quieter and quieter. "You know, I don't mean to do the stuff that I can. With Dr. Banner and the plane, I never would've done that if I could have stopped it. I don't necessarily think S.H.I.E.L.D. are the good guys, but I'm really tired of people looking at me like I'm bad. Because I'm not and I want to stop doing things that make it look like I am."

"Deal."

"What?"

"We'll make the deal." Steve said, stopping in front of the elevator that they used to get down here.

"You're a real upstanding gent, Captain Rogers." Avery pressed a button before she sighed. "I don't know what floor we're going to."

"Four."

"You should give me the gun." The elevator door slid open and Avery immediately stepped in, turning around to look at him.

"Why?"

"Because your arthritis has to be killing you."

He laughed simply at the look on her face. "That isn't part of the deal."

"Last one, I swear." Avery seemed so much more normal when she was smiling. He remembered the look on her face on the grainy interrogation footage, the horror and mortification that seemed to dominate everything about what happened with Loki. As they went up, however, he noticed that the same upset look started to return, almost as if she thought they were stepping back into reality. "So the gun?"

"Absolutely not." Steve switched the gun to the opposite side from her. "Avery, I just want you to know that you aren't the only one who doesn't know whats going on most of the time."

She was quiet for a moment and Steve thought she wasn't going to say anything else before she looked away. When she spoke her voice was soft and almost unintelligible. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For treating me like I ma..." She trailed off when the elevator doors opened. "Just, thank you."


	14. Chapter 14

Avery noticed three things about Tony Stark almost immediately. One, he never stopped talking. Two, he was more skilled at insulting people than a man his age probably should be. And three, he never seemed to know where the line was. Or maybe he did, and simply didn't care.

She couldn't decide which of the three was the most alarming.

He noticed her the moment she walked into the lab with Steve and immediately sauntered over to her. He shouldn't saunter. It made him look skeezy. Avery supposed that might be what he was going for, but from what she had read in the tabloids and seen on TV, he had never seemed like the type to do anything creepy, intentional or not. Still, he seemed delighted to see her and that made her pause as soon as she entered. Steve kept walking and set the gun on the nearest table, folding his arms over his chest. The door slid shut being them, leaving the lab in silence except for the noise of the machines and computers. Even the four of them staring at each other produced enough phantom noise to fill the space.

Tony, seemingly oblivious to the awkward, kept smirking at her, making her cautious to the point that she tried to press her back against the nearest wall without any of them noticing.

Dr. Banner, who had been standing in front of a floating computer monitor on the opposite side of the lab, glanced over at them. She could see that he didn't quite know what to make of her standing there staring at him. He was decent enough not to say anything, unlike Tony, who opened his mouth to speak almost as soon as the uncomfortable silence started.

"Oh my god, Bruce, do you know who this is?"

"You've been gone a while, Steve," Dr. Banner addressed Steve directly, almost as if he was willing her away in his mind while simultaneously ignoring Tony. She thought about being offended for a moment before she remembered what happened the last time she and him had been in the general vicinity of each other. He wasn't convulsing, this time. She saw that as an improvement, at the very least.

"Can I have your autograph?" Tony was speaking to her. She blinked rapidly, wondering what on earth he was talking about before she realized he was was referring to her disastrous interview with Loki. "I caught your last show. Solid work, kid. Can't say I cared for your screen partner, though."

"Tony, stop harassing her." Dr. Banner sounded like he had been stuck in the lab with Tony for hours with nothing but his rambling and the computer screens to keep him company. He turned to look at Avery, smiling slightly in a way that clearly showed his discomfort underneath his attempts at being friendly. "I, uh, don't think we've formally met."

Neither of them crossed the lab to exchange the customary handshake. Neither of them moved in fact, both seeming perfectly content with the fifteen foot distance separating them. Avery kept her back to the wall and leaned out, peering around Steve's large frame to look at Dr. Banner directly. "I'm Avery. It's nice to meet you."

She meant it, even if her hesitant tone didn't express it.

"I'm Bruce."

"So, you aren't supposed to be here." The frankness in his tone would normally be offensive, but when it came from Tony, even if she didn't know him very well, it didn't seem like he meant it as anything other than the truth.

"Should I leave?"

"I didn't say that." Tony turned away from her and walked over to a small table covered in equipment. He poked around, pushing some things aside and dropping others, before he found what he was looking for. A bag of blueberries half gone and half mushed. He walked back over to her, skirting around Steve with an unreadable look on his face, before he came to stand in front of her. He shoved the blueberries under her nose and shook the bag, more and more until she finally snatched them out of his hand just to get him to stop. "That's the spirit."She popped a few in her mouth and chewed them quickly, nervously. Tony was watching her. Steve and Bruce were too but they at least at the common decency to not make it too obvious. She poured a few more into her hand and made eye contact with Tony, purposely staring him down while she shoved the rest of the snack into her mouth.

He smirked.

"So, what happened?" Tony plucked the bag out of her hand and poured enough into his mouth to puff out his cheeks. "You're eyes started glowing." His words were so muffled and thick he held up a finger and told her to wait while he swallowed the inhuman amount of fruit in his mouth before continuing. "Anyway, right before your nose started bleeding your eyes went all Village of the Damned."

"No way?"

"Yea, it was awesome." Steve made a noise in the back of his throat and his shoulders visibly tensed. Bruce shot Tony an admonishing look, which he responded to by raising his hands up. "Sorry, uh, we were _so_ concerned about you."

"I bet."

"Well, it was pretty cool."

"So my eyes started glowing?" He nodded and held out the bag of blueberries once again. She stared at them, glancing back and forth between them and his face, finger nails digging into the skin on the back of her thigh. Apparently, she had glowing eyes. She pressed her hands back against the nearest hard surface, shoulder muscles flexing while her chest expanded as she took in a shaky breath. A nose bleed was bad enough, she thought. Glowing eyes were worse and she felt the pressure building up suddenly, right behind her eyes and along the bridge of her nose. "That's…"

"It was only a flash." He was practically forcing her to take a handful of blueberries from him. When she did, Tony smiled and turned around. She dropped them on the floor immediately and resumed trying to take in a enough air to not feel light headed. "You feel okay?"

"I," She paused, squeezing her hands together behind her back. "I'm fine."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire."

"Leave her alone, Stark." Steve didn't sound angry, per say, but her certainly wasn't happy with how the conversation was progressing. "She isn't here for you to harass."

"Pity, harassing Bruce is getting a little boring. Besides, I would hardly call this harassment. What's a little conversation about supernatural abilities amongst friends?" Tony glanced over at Bruce and shook his head, mouthing something that looked like a retraction of what he had just said before he looked back at Avery in full. "But on a more serious note, I just thought you should know that you apparently have laser eyes."

"Was it bad?" Avery asked, feeling embarrassed by her slightly horrified tone of voice. Steve turned to face her, arms dropping from their crossed position to rest on his belt. "I mean that in a totally not pathetic way, of course."

"Obviously."

"Tony only noticed it because he was bored."

"And because of my keen detective skills," Tony interjected, fiddling with something for a moment before he dropped it, disinterest taking over his features. "Don't forget those."

"But that means Loki probably noticed too," Avery said it out loud, although it was more for herself than anything. "I mean, if _you_ noticed he definitely did as well." Steve laughed, causing Avery t turn and look at him, confusion all over her face for a moment before she realized she had insulted Tony directly to his face. "Oh, no. I didn't mean it like that. I was just pointing out the obvious."

That certainly didn't make it better. Steve covered his mouth with his hand, trying and failing to cover up his continued laughter. Tony looked back and forth between the two of them, narrowing his eyes in a way that caused Avery to snort as well. "Huh, I didn't know the super solider serum came with a built in sense of humor."

"Funny." Steve stopped laughing and scowled at him.

"Lighten up, Spangles," Tony said, causing whatever slight change mood change in Steve in the positive direction to evaporate. "Look, I didn't tell you to freak you out or anything. I just thought you should know before Fury finds out."

"You didn't tell him?"

"Snitches get stitches," Tony said simply, confusing both Steve and Bruce. Avery understood however, and felt and instant liking towards the older man settle upon her. "We'll keep it close to the vest until you can figure it out."

"You don't think it's a bad thing?"

"What, his sense of humor," He paused and looked at Steve, sizing him up and down. "Horrendous by the way."

"No, the laser eyes thing."

"Oh most definitely. But hey, maybe you can use it to melt steal beams or mess with some unsuspecting cats. Wouldn't that be cool?"

"Tony," Bruce admonished, shooting Avery a very apologetic look. "It very easily could have been a lens flare."

"Yea, totally." Tony reached over and plucked the blueberries out of her hand. "And by that I mean not at all. We'll go with lens flare for now."

"You think it wasn't."

"I _know_ it wasn't. But Bruce is hushing me because apparently I'm being rude, so you and me can have a powwow lunch over this new information later when Capsicle isn't over there glaring at me. Deal?" Avery stared at him for a moment, trying to simultaneously process the idea of a new development in her powers, which was freaky in its own right, and Tony Stark inviting her to lunch. Both were alarming to think about and equally absurd. She shook her head and smiled, nodding ever so slightly.

"Deal."

Tony smirked at her again and turned to other two and clapped his hands. "I like her. Let's keep her around."

"Steve, did you find something?" Bruce asked, steering the conversation back to the other elephant in the room in the form of the giant silver gun currently sitting on one of their lab tables. She had already forgotten about that. "Besides Avery, I mean."

"The computers were taking a little long," Steve said, walking over and placing his hand on the barrel, or what she assumed was the barrel where his fingers had dented it earlier.

"I wouldn't get too worked about the eye thing, kid." Tony came to stand next to her and leaned down so that only she could hear him.

"You know I was just getting used to one freaky thing about myself. I'm kind of upset that now there's two."

"Maybe, maybe not. I would get used to it, however, because from what I can tell, the world's about to get a whole hell of a lot freakier."

* * *

Things were not going according to plan. Avery didn't have a idea, per say, about how she wanted things to go, but this was certainly not it. The situation had escalated so quickly into fights it would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that every single person in the room looked capable of, and likely to, kill one another at any moment. She sat back on one of the lab tables and crossed her arms over her chest, watching as they squabbled back and forth like children. Calling them children might even be giving them too much credit. They hardly noticed her, seemingly too caught up in yelling at each other to think about the extra person pressed as far against the lab table as possible.

She decided she was content, like usual, to wait it out; to wait until it was over before either trying to sneak out, inadvisable given the current company, or sit quietly until they all forgot she existed.

She settled on the second one and pulled her hands up underneath the backs of her knees and hopped up onto the table. It was probably disrespectful of her, what with her lack of showering for a few days and the delicate nature of the instruments on all sides of her, but she did so anyway. She tried to make herself as skinny as possible so as not to disturb anything and returned her gaze to the six-way fight in front of her, unsure of who was the most interesting and important to watch.

Tony and Steve seemed to have the most animosity between them, although she didn't have any idea why, and were currently throwing insults back and forth, each one getting nastier and nastier. Then there was the three way spat going on between Director Fury, whom Avery thought had no business squabbling at his age, Natasha and Bruce. Then there was Thor looking smug and superior, as if the entire thing was beneath him.

She caught his gaze once and immediately looked away, turning her attention back on the other five.

It was a mess and Avery was perfectly okay with staying out of it.

Her insistence on keeping clear of the conflict was something she thought she had perfected a long time ago. It allowed her to focus on her control, at the very least, even if the fight didn't offer any of the information Steve had goaded her with in the first place. She supposed it was something to learn that her eyes glowed, but even that had been glossed over in such a flippant way by Tony she had a hard time taking it seriously.

Normal human eyes didn't glow. She had never been normal, but even that was a bit of stretch, even for her.

She ran her fingers along the edge of the table underneath her knees and focused on keeping her powers from going haywire. She literally couldn't think of a worse time for them to go bad. She used all her energy, which was admittedly less than ideal, on keeping them back. She felt pressure behind her eyes for a moment before it dissipated into a dull ache in her sinuses that she took to be a good sign. They were a leaky faucet right now, as opposed to a gush, so she thought it was a good thing.

When Steve invited her up to the lab, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. Which brought her back to her original assessment of this fubar situation being the exact opposite of anything resembling a plan, her choosing or otherwise. She had imagined finally being included in what was happening. She thought she had earned even that much after everything involving the facility explosion, Bruce, and the sudden arrival of not one, but two Asgardians. She had no illusions about being anywhere near as helpful as the other people in the room but she thought that if she was going to be on the helicarrier anyway she might as well be doing something useful rather than thinking of all the possible ways she could escape without anyone noticing a parachute was missing.

Besides, Avery did think if they were going to demand she be privy to and subsequently relay information from Loki that they award her the common decency of letting her in on their meetings that discussed him.

She really didn't think it was too much to ask.

She supposed it was step in the right direction that she was there and that Steve and Tony had actually talked to her like she had a right to know what was going on. Now that she could see how they fought, baby steps seemed like the best thing she could hope for at the moment. She glanced at the two men in question and rolled her eyes before looking around the lab.

Her table was directly across from the scepter. It did look sort of intimidating, now that she had time to examine it. Despite its sort of scary, sort of movie propish qualities, it didn't really seem like it was worth all the effort and trouble, however, so she couldn't help but glare at the little blue orb mounted at the top. The small amount of glow, which Avery wasn't sure if she should be concerned about or not, ebbed for a moment before it flickered out, returning the stone back to its original blue.

"Is that normal?" She spoke before she could stop herself, although none of them paid her any attention. It certainly didn't seem normal, even if her knowledge of glowing scepters was pretty limited to movies about cursed Egyptian pharaohs. "Guys?"

Nothing.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the entire situation, excluding Steve and Tony's apparent talent for finding the one thing about each other that they were insecure about, was the fact that neither Director Fury nor Natasha had said a word to her since they came storming into the lab. It would be nice if she didn't consider it to be a sign that they both might have had suffered a recent stroke or something similarly debilitating. It was, perhaps, the conceited part of her that had come to expect some sort of argument to her presence from the two of them. She wondered if they had finally moved on from thinking her goal in life was to make theirs difficult.

She thought she would like being left alone if it weren't for the fact that the only thing she had to occupy her time was staring at a magical stick that apparently liked to cause problems for everyone it came in contact with. It glowed again, almost as if it could sense her watching it. She leaned back and narrowed her eyes at it for a moment before she realized how pathetic it was to have a starting match with a rock. She looked away from it pointedly and looked at each of the others in turn.

"You people are so petty," Thor's mocking voice cut right across her, forcing her to pay better attention to what they were saying to each other. "And tiny."

He was looking at her again.

She didn't know if she should be offended that he addressed the last part of his sentence to her, or flattered that he didn't address her with the first. Either way, she didn't like the way he kept staring at her and she immediately looked over at the nearest person who wasn't Thor, her gaze happening upon the back of Steve's head. Her eyes trailed down his shoulders, noticing how tensed they looked.

"Yea, this is a team." Bruce snorted derisively and Avery couldn't help but agree with him, not that she ever thought, for even a moment, that she would be included in any sort of team with any of them.

"Agent Romanoff, would you mind escorting Dr. Banner to…"

"Where? You rented my room."

Avery could see the tension on everyone's faces. She dug her fingers into the edge of the metal table and scooted forward so that her feet touched the ground again.

"That was a preca…"

"In case you needed to kill me?" Bruce snapped, silence settling over the entire room as he looked around at each of them. "But you can't. I know, I've tried." There was nothing left for her to look at in the lab without it being too obvious that she was avoiding eye contact. She couldn't look at Bruce however, not now. So she closed her eyes in a pathetic attempt to remove herself from the room and tried to block out what he said next, even if it didn't work. "I got low and I didn't see an end. I had nobody so I ate a bullet and the other guy spit it out. I tried to move on. I was good, I was helping people the best way I could until you pulled me back into this mess and put everybody here at risk."

He took a step back towards the table with the scepter, running his hands over his face. Avery squeezed her hands together behind her back and shuffled in her spot as he moved forward. She didn't know who the other guy was, but she wasn't keen to find out, considering how Natasha had talked about him when she had finally divulged that tiny detail. Really, it was like pulling teeth with that woman. Bruce leaned over and placed his hands on the table, fists clenched. "You want to know my secret? You want to know how I stay calm?" His voice lowered and octave as he reached forward to grab the scepter, turning around to face the rest of them.

"Dr. Banner, put down the scepter." Steve held out his arm, his placating voice low and even. Bruce, for his part, didn't even seem to realize he had picked it up in the first place.

The gem at the top glowed again.

One of the numerous computer's beeped, cutting the tension in the room. Bruce's shoulders visibly relaxed as he set down the scepter and turned to the monitor, fixing his glasses in a way that Avery thought resembled a nervous tick.

"I guess you don't get to see my party trick after all."

"Have you found the tesseract?" Thor asked, stepping up behind Bruce in a way that dwarfed him.

"It's almost there."

"You know, we do have our very own Pinocchio, why don't we use her?" Avery blinked rapidly as all the eyes in the room turned to look at her after Tony brought her into the conversation. Glaring at him for drawing their attention over to her seemed unnecessary, but she couldn't help it. She also couldn't help but notice the nickname he gave her. "What, like your attempts at invisibility were working?"

"You saw the same tapes we did, Stark, you know what happened," Steve said, before Avery could answer. "Loki messed with her the same way he's messing with us. If we can find the tesseract another way without putting her back in with him, we should."

"Simmer down," Tony said, holding his hands up. He pulled the bag of blueberries back out and poured some more into his mouth.

"What is your mother's name?" Thor asked suddenly, staring her down.

"Can you stop staring at me, please? It's really starting to freak me out."

"I mean you no offense, I simply wish to know how you came by your powers," Thor stepped away from Bruce and allowed him to keep narrowing down his search for the tesseract.

"You asked about my mom. Why?"

"I know your face."

"Maybe you've seen her in a movie," Tony offered, voice slightly mocking even if it was hard for the others to tell.

"We have no such thing on my home."

"This seems like a conversation for later," Avery said, shifting away from Thor. "You know when Loki isn't trying to blow something up."

"Gudrun, why are you even here?"

Avery rolled her eyes. She could feel the snark building, despite her best efforts to stop it, and spoke in a tone that was probably inadvisable, given the current atmosphere in the lab. "As in, in this particular room, or on the helicarrier in general?"

"We have one Tony Stark, we don't need another." Tony handed her another blueberry, which she took without even thinking about it and popped it into her mouth. Fury glanced at Bruce before he turned back to look at her. "The two of you are not supposed to be in the same area."

"I finished with Loki."

"And?"

" _And_ , I had nowhere else to go." It sounded much more pathetic than she intended it to. She could tell Steve was watching her, along with Natasha, Thor, and Bruce. It was uncomfortable, to say the very least. "Anyway, I talked to Loki and he didn't have anything riveting to say, so I left. And now I'm here."

The computer beeped again. Fury looked at her, then Tony, and finally Steve before he narrowed his eye. "We'll finish this later."

Avery wasn't aware of it, but apparently she let out a quiet noise of discontent that caused Tony to laugh. He leaned over, shaking the bag of blueberries under her nose. "I take it you and Fury go way back."

"I hardly know the guy," Avery said, lip quirking upwards ever so slightly.

"Wait," Bruce trailed off, leaning closer to the computer. "This can't be right…" He didn't finish. He pulled up a keypad and started typing, fingers flying across the screen, completely ignoring the conflict going on behind him.

"Have you found it?" Thor pushed, impatience showing in his voice.

"I can get there the fastest!" Tony threw up his arm, as if he was in class volunteering for something. Steve visibly rolled his eyes.

"It belongs on Asgard. No mortal is a match for its power." Pompousness must be inherent to all Asgardians. Avery felt her lips purse. Tony shoved the bag of blueberries at her and started walking towards the door, fingers twitching at his sides. Avery thought he wanted to flip Thor off. Or all of them. He didn't seem like the type to be particular about that sort of thing.

"You can't go alone," Steve grabbed Tony by the shoulder. Avery, along with everyone else in the lab, it seemed, winced, knowing that it wasn't going to end well. The look on Tony's face indicated as much and she was surprised when he didn't punch Steve right then and there. Maybe he knew it wouldn't do much damage. Still, Avery took a step back so that she was out of their path, finding herself up against the corner of the table the scepter was on. She instantly took a sideways step, distancing herself as it glowed once again.

"Are you going to stop me?"

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds," Steve seethed.

"I'm not above hitting an old man."

Avery groaned audibly and placed her hand on the table, watching the two of them bicker back and forth.

"Guys, stop." Neither of them noticed her, too busy caught up in their pissing match to pay attention to her or the glowing stone directly behind them. She did, however, and instantly noticed it was now increasing in intensity. That was definitely something to be concerned about. She leaned over, eyeing it up and down. "Uh, should it be doing this?" She asked, no one in particular. She wanted to touch it for some reason, her hand twitching at her side with the desire to do so. She shoved them into her pockets for good measure and leaned over to the side, looking at the scepter and its now completely suspicious glowing stone from another angle. "Guys?"

"Oh my god." She smiled, thinking someone was finally taking notice. She turned around, expecting to see someone standing next to her, but was disappointed to find Tony and Steve still arguing and Bruce standing in front of his computer monitor with a horrified look on his face. Natasha stepped up behind him at some point and peered over his shoulder, as if she was going to ask what he found but never got the chance before the lab exploded.

Avery felt the floor give out underneath her as debris and metal flew everywhere before she finally registered the sound of the explosion. She threw her hands over face as she fell, eyes snapped shut in anticipation of the inevitable crunch. It was only a moment before she was violently yanked to a stop, dangling in a mess of snapped in half wires and sharp metal floor pieces. She waited a moment before she opened her eyes, assessing the damage with a disbelieving look on her face.

She was upside down, for one thing, and staring directly at the floor beneath her, where she could just make out the shapes of Bruce and Natasha through all the dust. She tried to swing up before she found herself running chest and face first into a bundle of sparking wires caught on a piece of the floor that hadn't detached in the explosion. It groaned and swayed for a moment, sending more sparks flying at her face, before it settled on a dull moan in the background. Avery twisted, clawing her hands at the thick wire wrapped around her hip, anchoring her in place and cutting off circulation to her right leg. She ran her nail along it to see if she could cut it and let out a frustrated sigh when she realized that it would be impossible. When she didn't think up was an option, she looked down, fanning the air to get a clear look at Natasha and Bruce.

"Are you okay?" She called, squinting as another one of the wires sparked.

Neither of them responded.

"Natasha?" She called again, voice strained as dust filled her lungs. She finally caught a clear view of Natasha's red hair against the darkness. She was pinned underneath something, squirming in her spot and waving her arm to someone that Avery couldn't see. She would have thought it was Bruce if she didn't see him writing on the floor next to Natasha, groaning like he was in pain. They were just far enough down that the height, combined with all the blood rushing to her head, made her vision spin. They were close enough, however, that she could see everything that was going on.

Like the greenish hue of Bruce's skin.

"Dr. Banner?"

He looked up at her and groaned, neck muscles bulging.

"Bruce, listen to me. You have to fight it. Listen to my voice," Natasha said, voice strained as she struggled to pull her leg out from underneath the steel beam. Avery didn't understand fully, but she thought this might have something to do with why her and Bruce weren't allowed to be in the same room. She remembered the way he fled the observation room when she woke up from sedation, hands clenched into fists at his sides and muscles shaking. He looked so much worse now. So much worse, in fact, that Natasha was visibly scared. "Bruce, I swear we will get you through this." Natasha slammed her fist onto the ground, the motion desperate. Avery twisted around, straining to see Bruce's face. She slipped slightly as the wire lost a little bit of grip on her leg. He groaned again as his back rippled and his clothes tore at the seams.

Bruce was growing. And green.

That was certainly a first for her.

"Stop turning green, stop turning green. Please stop." Avery closed her eyes and held her arms out over her hand, fingers playing outwards institutionally. She blocked out his noises of pain and tried to focus, clearing her mind as best she could beyond her repetition of her desire for him to remain his very human and very pinkish self. It probably wasn't a secret but she had made Thor use his powers so she had to try and see if it worked in reverse. Of course, the might not even be powers.

"What…" Bruce struggled to breathe, but he was speaking so Avery took that as a sign that maybe it was working.

Natasha, seeing the opportunity presented to her, yanked her leg out from the metal beam and scrambled backwards. She pressed herself against the wall, hand trailing down to her gun holstered at her hip. She looked up, lip quivering. Avery wondered if she wanted to cry or if it was an involuntary reaction that came out despite her best efforts. She nodded at Avery and stood up, keeping her back against the wall like she wanted to melt into it. Bruce groaned loudly, the noise reverberating through the underbelly of the helicarrier.

"No green," Avery panted, focusing even harder until she felt something warm dribbling down from her nose and over her brow. Her eyes crossed. "Please, no green."

Her fingers were so splayed out they hurt, but she kept pushing. There was something different about it this time, something painful and sharp that made the room spin and her muscles pulsate. Her hands twitched and for a moment she thought she lost whatever control she had. Bruce let out a muffled yell and stumbled backwards until he fell sideways off the small platform he and Natasha were on.

He stopped shaking and Avery let out a small puff of air, thinking that perhaps the crisis was averted for the time being. She breathed deeply, shoving her nose into her shoulder to wipe away some of the blood, and kept pushing. She wished, once again, she could see what her powers looked like, if for no other reason than to see if they were even working or if she was delaying the inevitable. Bruce slammed his hands on the ground, denting the floor and shaking the walls around them.

"No green, no green, no green," Avery repeated the mantra over and over, feeling her energy, and control more importantly, slipping. The blood pounded in her head, dulling all sounds except the rushing in her ears. Natasha said something, something that Bruce didn't like before she turned and took three steps back, distancing herself from him enough that if she needed to she could run and have a bit of a head start from Bruce.

Avery didn't really think it was Bruce anymore.

Her vision blurred slightly and she shook her head, flinging blood everywhere for a moment before she realized she had lost it.

He shook so violently she thought his bones would break. He started clawing at his own clothes, his body growing too big for them. His thigh muscles split the seam of his pants, his bones elongating far past normal human proportions. He ripped off his shoes as his feet jutted out, toes curl down into the metal beneath him. His chest expanded, his arms, his hands, his head, his everything grew so big he didn't even look like himself anymore. He didn't look like much of anything except big and terrifying and utterly not human.

And he was so very green.

Bruce, or what used to be Bruce, noticed Natasha first and Avery, in one of her more selfish moments, was thankful she was trussed up like a trapped animal fifteen feet above them. She covered her nose with her hand and tried to calm her breathing as she watched Bruce push his way through metal canisters and steal structure like it was nothing, howling and snarling as he set his sights on Natasha. She looked so small and Avery imagined Bruce could break her in half.

And then she was gone and Avery didn't know what happened. Bruce tore off after her, snarling like and groaning.

She suddenly felt something warm slipping over her forehead, thinner than blood and stemming from her eyes.

She was crying.

It was so stupid, but she couldn't stop it. She scrubbed the hand not staunching her nosebleed over her eyes, feeling her panic building. She couldn't see Natasha, but she could hear Bruce thundering through the facility, the walls and floor shaking. Any one of the noises could be him throwing Natasha into a wall, or squeezing her until she popped, or slamming her into the floor until she was nothing more than a bloody pulp.

The wall shook violently and Avery slipped, the wire wrapped around hip burned her through her pants and she plummeted towards the floor. It caught on something she couldn't see, saving her before she hit the floor.

She realized she needed to move. She felt frozen for a moment, fear building up inside her until she let out a fractured sob. She had wanted to cry so badly earlier, thinking it would make her feel better, but now she hated it. It didn't solve anything and it just made it harder for her to breathe and the horrendous pressure in her head increase.

Swinging there for a moment, Avery made up her mind, half from fear, half from sheer self-preservation. Avery twisted upwards and grabbed onto the wire wrapped around her hip. She pulled on it while wrenching her hip sideways until it finally loosened up enough for her to pull her leg out. She dangled for a moment, catching her breath, before she hooked her foot onto the tangled knot that had trapped her in the first place and flipped so that she was standing on the knot, rather than dangling upside down.

Up was better than down, she told herself, so she started climbing. She took it slowly, slipping more times than she could count, and ignored the pain in her hip and the blood dripping from her nose. Steam billowed downwards from the hole in the ceiling, causing her to rethink her plan for a moment before Bruce broke something else. He made up her mind more effectively than anything else could, spurring her to climb faster until she could no longer see the floor beneath her. She picked her way through the mess of wires, metal shards, and steam before she finally was able to reach up and grab onto what she thought was the mangled remains of the lab floor and heave herself away from the wires.

Avery threw herself onto the lab floor when she finally reached the top and breathed deeply. She could ignore the way the floor shook for half a moment if she could catch her breath, but it seemed impossible. The ceiling spun but it wasn't much worse than the way the floor seemed to ripple like ocean waves. Avery sat up on her elbows and looked around the lab, sickness settling in her stomach at the sight.

It was a mess. The place where the window used to be opened up to nothingness as the air was sucked out like a vacuum. The computers that Tony and Bruce used were in pieces scattered all around the room, some smoldering, some barely damaged beyond a few scratches. They weren't what caught her eye, however. The scepter sat balanced on a piece of bent metal, bouncing dangerously close to the gaping hole in the window.

It was a miracle it was even still there.

Or perhaps a curse. It dipped, sliding downwards off it precarious position and towards the open sky.

She scrambled to her knees without thinking and slid forward just enough to wrap her right hand around the cold metal end of the scepter before it could fall. She got an eyeful of the vast expanse beneath the helicarrier for her efforts and her vision instantly blurred again. She curled the scepter into her chest and threw herself backwards, skidding over metal and glass and all other manner of things that would probably leave a fair amount of bruises and cuts later.

She kept moving backwards until her back hit something solid. "Keep it together, Aves." She closed her eyes and pulled the scepter closer to her chest, hands shaking and nose dripping. "Just because someone just turned into a giant green monster doesn't mean you get to freak out. Natasha certainly didn't freak out and she's the one being chase by..."

"This is it. Break it down." The voice startled her, breaking her out of her slight anxiety attack. She looked up, staring at the door with wide eyes. She didn't know that voice. She stood up slowly, keeping her back against the wall, and stepped sideways. She could fit under one of the desks, she thought, if she didn't breathe too deeply and was willing to shove her knees up against her chest. "That engine will be down soon and we don't want to be here when this thing goes down."

Avery just managed to shove herself under the desk when the door slid open. The scepter pressed against her breastbone and the sharp tip scraped along the underside of the desk, but otherwise she fit with just enough room to spare that she wouldn't go spilling out the sides. The stone glowed, illuminating her entire hiding place. She tried to cover it with her hand but only succeeded in cutting herself on the edge.

"Find it."

Avery closed her eyes and tried to curl herself in as small a ball as possible. There were four of them, if she counted their footsteps correctly, and they sounded like they wouldn't care how much she told them she wasn't supposed to be there.

She didn't even know if that was an excuse or if it was true anymore.

"It isn't here." One of them came close to the desk, their footsteps stopping just next to her. She cracked open one eye and looked at the heavy boot directly to her left. It was a man's boot and steel toed. Perfect for smashing fingers and breaking ribs. She gulped and pushed the scepter away from her chest, pointing it at the foot. She didn't even know how to use it, but she imagined it would do some damage if she shoved it into their foot like a knife.

The door opened again. She froze, mouth open and hands clenched.

She involuntarily screamed when the first gunshot rang through the lab. She covered her mouth with her hand and scooted backwards, knowing there was nowhere to go but trying anyway. Her hands slipped on the metal staff, sweating profusely. She couldn't move, couldn't think. All she heard was gunshots and bodies hitting the floor.

The gunshots stopped almost as quickly as they started, throwing the lab into silence. It didn't comfort her. Her breathing was erratic and damning, making her attempts at hiding useless. They would probably kill her. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the moment, wishing that she had been able to do something to help Bruce and Natasha. Perhaps if she had actually worked harder rather than just spending her days on base in a never ending parade of bitter she might have been able to prevent Bruce from changing in the first place. She made a mental note to work harder on that if she survived. Also to tell Bruce that green certainly wasn't his color.

"You can come out now." That voice she recognized, although she wasn't able to put a name with it at the moment. She didn't move as the person walked over to her hiding place and bent down.

She stared at them for a moment before she screamed and punched them square in the face, sending them flying backwards into the wall with a thud. She was proud of herself until she she saw who it was and promptly screamed again.


	15. Chapter 15

"Why are you screaming at me?"

Avery paused, mouth still open in a scream and stared at the man in front of her. Phil Coulson did not look impressed. She didn't exactly blame him, however, consider she had just coldcocked him in the face just for leaning down to look at her. It wasn't her finest moment. She blushed and pulled her hand back, wincing when she noticed the tiniest amount of blood on her largest knuckle. That was probably from his nose. "Sorry, I panicked."

"You might want to work your response a little bit." Coulson rubbed his jaw and stepped back, allowing her enough room to crawl out from under the table.

"Oh man, I'm sorry." Avery looked around for something to stop the bleeding before she noticed he already had his own handkerchief out. He dabbed his nose briefly before handing it over to her, confusing her for a moment.

"You need it more than I do."

It was truly amazing how quickly things changed in a matter of moments. One moment she was hanging upside down watching a very respectable man, and she assumed as much based simply on the fact that he didn't actively seem evil by her estimation, turn into a giant green poster for everything wrong with steroids. She would have thought that that little incident would be seared in her mind forever. She was certain it would be making a reappearance in her nightmares for months to come, but had been able to forget about it for a moment. The look on Bruce's face right before he changed flashed again.

Her hand shook. Men turning into monsters didn't happen. It shouldn't happen.

"Thanks." Avery took it and tried to wipe away the blood without Coulson noticing the shaking too much. "Is Natasha okay?"

"Agent Romanoff hasn't maintained contact."

"I couldn't stop Bruce from..." Avery dabbed harder, hands shaking so much she could hardly do the job properly. She gave up after a moment and tried to hand the cloth back, which Coulson politely refused with a subtle shake of his head. The disgust didn't even show on his face, which impressed Avery. She should ask him about that later. "

"It was a good punch, by the way." Avery threw the handkerchief aside and readjusted her grip on the scepter. Even though it freaked her out, she didn't really want to let go of it until someone, someone who seemed like they knew what they were doing, someone like Coulson, told her it was okay. "Are you alright?"

"Well, I can't say I've been worse." Avery glanced down at the scepter in her hand significantly before she looked around the room and the hole she had just gollumed her way out of. The five bodies, she had miscounted, littering the floor made everything seem so much worse.

"They aren't dead." Coulson said, noticing the horrified look on her face.

"You shot them."

"They shot at me first." Coulson's voice was so calm, Avery would almost assume this sort of thing happened to him all the time. Maybe it did. She had sort of made the decision, based solely on her own personal annoyance, to generally ignore most of the goings on in S.H.I.E.L.D in favor of stewing in her own frustration.

Obviously, that wasn't really working out for her.

She was probably going to have to get used to the fact that she couldn't distance herself from what was going on. She sighed and pointed to the bodies, making up her mind. She hated it, but she supposed she was long overdue for a reality check about the situation she found herself in.

"Who are they?"

"Some of them are S.H.I.E.L.D, some of them are hired mercenaries who specialize in this sort of thing."

"General mayhem and destruction."

"That abouts, yes."

"Then, you can take this." Avery pressed the scepter towards Coulson, making up her mind quite quickly that she wanted nothing to do with it. It was glowing too much for her liking and it put off a smell that made her queasy. It wasn't a real smell she was certain, just the sort that she had made up to explain why she felt like her stomach had suddenly found a home in her butt. Or something like that. When Coulson didn't show any sign of being inclined to take it from her, she shoved it towards him again. "C'mon, take it."

"Line of custody."

"You're making that up."

"You don't know that."

"I do, because I'm pretty sure this isn't Law & Order and you sir, are no Stabler."

Coulson shrugged and moved around the lab, bending down over the bodies and checking them for spare bullets, Avery assumed, and anything that could be used to hurt them just in case they woke up. "I'm going to assume you meant no offense."

"No more than when I punched you in the face."

Coulson paused over the body nearest to the door and looked up at her, eyebrows raised. "You're different that I imagined."

"Well, we don't exactly know each other and this isn't exactly a normal situation."

"I've monitored your progress." Coulson stood up and put two magazines for his gun in suit jacket pocket. He popped the current one out of his gun and replaced it before he did the same with a second gun he'd pilfered. He turned around to all the bodies and counted them, eyes raking over them as if he was assessing them and Avery got the distinct impression he wanted to see if they had any other weapons other than the ones he'd already pilfered. She wondered briefly if he had x-ray vision before she realized that was stupid.

Of course, it wasn't any more stupid than a man turning green.

"It must have been pretty boring," Avery said, running her fingers along the edge of the scepter absentmindedly as she tried to push Bruce to the back of her touched the smooth part just underneath the stone, staring at it. It was sort of pretty for something that caused so many problems. She poked it and immediately regretted it as it emitted a violent burst of energy that burned a hole in the wall across from her.

Her mouth dropped open.

"Don't do that again."

"Right." Avery squeezed the cold metal tighter and gulped. "Are you sure you don't want to take this from me?"

"Not particularly," Coulson said, walking back over to her. He was taller than she thought, her face coming to just above his shoulder. She had only seen him a couple of times and it was mostly just in passing or when she managed to sneak away to a place she wasn't supposed to be, but she had always thought he would be short. "We need to move, someone will have heard the guns," He paused and glanced at the scepter accusatorily. He smirked slightly, however, so she could tell he wasn't too upset. "And now that little explosion."

"That was my bad."

"Here, take this." Coulson handed her a small earpiece, which she took without question. Avery held it for a moment before she pressed it into her ear and twisted it around until it didn't feel like it was going to pop out at some critical point. Like when she was in danger of being shot at by marauding ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. henchmen, which she really needed to have a chat with Director Fury about at a later date. "I'll need to be able to get in contact with you."

"Aren't we sticking together?"

"No, we aren't."

Avery tried not to let her sudden feeling on apprehension show on her face. "And you're certain of this decision?"

"You've been trained for this."

"I'm going to be perfectly honest and say I didn't really pay much attention during that time."

"You know more than you think."

"Obviously not enough to know to not mess with the magical scepter in my hand."

"I can guarantee you know enough to go sit in a corner and keep me posted about what's happening on the detention level."

"Coulson, look, I really don't know how much help I'll be beyond screaming a lot and bursting into tears at the worse possible times."

"You're all I've got right now and I need your help. Do you think you can do that?"

Avery thought about it for a moment before nodded, not entirely sure what she was agreeing to. "Where will you be?"

"Armory."

"With all the weapons Steve found?" Avery glanced sideways at the large gun currently left abandoned on the lab floor. Steve's fingerprint indentations were still clearly visible, reminding her of how angry he had seemed when he discovered them. He had said something else, something about them being similar to some secret organization, but Avery hadn't really been paying attention. She should work on that. She did pay enough attention to know that Steve didn't like the idea of what was in that armory. That was enough to give her pause about whatever Coulson was planning on doing. She stared at him, then back at the gun, before settling her gaze on him fully, trying to not look like she was disrespecting him in any way. Unlike with Fury, she had zero desire to sass incessantly around Coulson. "Not that I'm questioning you or anything and not that I actually know anything about the super obviously top secret weapons, but Steve didn't seem to think using them was such a good idea."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." If the situation didn't seem so serious, Avery would point out the cliché of that little line for him.

"So why don't you use that one?" Avery asked, pointing to the gun.

"That one isn't ready to be used."

"So it's just for show?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't actually say anything," Avery pointed out, earning a small smirk. "But, I guess that's whatever, considering."

"Any other questions?"

"Yes, wait," Avery paused, wracking her brain. "No, not really. It can wait."

"In that case, take this." He tried to hand her the other gun in his hand. She held it by the end, grimacing at the very idea. She didn't like guns. She was quite frankly worried about anyone who did. S.H.I.E.L.D. taught her to use a gun and she had managed to get good enough to hit a target when she was standing still, but that was about it and she had almost shot her instructors more times than the target. Her hands still wouldn't stop shaking. She instantly felt pity for anyone one the other end of the barrel from her. It would be horrible to be shot, but even more so by someone who didn't know what they were doing. The indignity of it alone would probably hurt more than any shot she could get off.

Coulson noticed and placed a soft hand on her shoulder, calming her ever so slightly. "You need to keep a steady hand."

"I really don't like this plan. You should know that."

"Duly noted." Coulson's face became more serious, if that was possible. "You know how to get to the detention level?"

"I think can I remember the location of my most recent emotional trauma."

"When you get there, tell me everything you see."

"Like whether or not Loki is still in his cell."

"That'd be the most important."

"What do I do with this?" Avery gestured looked down at the scepter. "Because, I have to say, if this is why he's staging all of this, it seems like about the worst plan ever for me to go there. Back there, I mean. Look, it didn…"

"Avery, I'm only going to say this once because as we speak hostiles are trying to take control of an airship and knock it out of the sky. This isn't the time for you act like a coward."

"I wasn…"

"I know. I know that when it comes right down to it you'll do what's necessary."

"You don't know that."

"Are you really going to argue with me about how good of a person you are?"

"No, I'm just pointing out the pattern that I've followed for ten years. Mainly, that I'm not the sort that sticks in one place for long. And I'm certainly not the kind to go back some place where something bad happened to me."

"Then it seems like you're overdue for a bit of a change. Now, are you going to help me, or am I going to have to pull someone away from helping keep people on this ship safe?"

Avery stared at him, mouth slightly agape. When he phrased it like that she didn't really much of choice beyond nodding lamely. "Good. Now, do you know how to use that gun?"

"You probably should have asked that before you handed it to me."

"I'm just checking."

"I aim and pull the trigger."

"The safety has to be off," Coulson reminded her.

"I switch off the safety, aim, pull the trigger."

"You're eyes have to open."

"Coulson, you're not helping."

"You've never shot anyone," Coulson said, quite straight-faced despite the fact that were talking about the possibility of her shooting someone. Her blood ran cold at the thought and her hands shook even worse. "The best advice I can give you is that if you're going to point it at someone you have to mean it. You never raise your gun to someone you don't intend to kill. You have to mean if you're going to take a life."

"I can't do that."

"Maybe not. But, we've talked way too long. Get down to the detention level and tell me what you see. I'll get there as quick as I can."

Somehow, she doubted this was going to go as smoothly as Coulson thought, but she had been wrong before.

Avery didn't know which was more damning, the sound of her own erratic heartbeat or the frantic nature her breathing had taken on. Both were likely to get her killed, so she blocked them both out and pressed herself into her little corner furthered and focused on trying not to be seen. It had gone smoothly since Coulson had given her her little task. So smoothly, in fact, Avery was concerned she had done something wrong.

There should be more people shooting at her.

She felt slightly psychotic for feeling like something was missing without that, but there she was peering out to watch the door that led to Loki wondering why nobody was there and half-wishing they were just so she could confirm that Loki was still in his cell and not hiding behind her waiting to kill her. Or torment her more. She didn't think she could mentally handle that after Bruce.

As it was she was having a hard time focusing every time she ship shuddered. She kept imagining Bruce crashing through the walls and killing her then and there.

She shook her head, forcing herself to focus on keeping watch. Coulson wouldn't be happy if she failed. She pressed her finger to the earpiece, listening in to all the voice shouting orders at each other. She thought she could hear Tony and Steve yelling about turbines mixed in with all the other agents and staff trying to keep the threat from spreading. Apparently she was one of those agents too.

That was a development that she would have to ask Fury, and Coulson for that matter, about later.

When Avery peered out again she nearly got decapitated by a scarlet blur. She threw herself backwards just in time to avoid get smacked in the face with a giant hammer right as Thor noticed her crouched there. He skidded to a stop in front of her, the momentum of his movement causing his cape to billow around him for a moment before it settled at his feet.

"Lady Avery, what are you doing?"

"Keeping watch. What are you doing?"

"Keeping watch on who?"

"You're brother," Avery said, eyebrows furrowing when he got that same look on his face that he always seemed to be sporting around her.

"Adopted."

"Semantics don't really matter when it comes to cuckoo banana pants in there." She gestured with the hand holding the scepter, immediately drawing his attention.

"You have Loki's scepter."

"That I do. Do you want it?"

"No," Thor said quickly. "I have no use for it other than to keep it out of his hands."

"God, could somebody just take this?" She paused, lips pursing. "Is it inappropriate for me to use that, you know, considering your possible god-like status?"

"I find no offense in your manner of speech."

"Well, that's good. But seriously, please take this."

"I cannot wield both Mjolnir and the scepter. I will deal with Loki then return to relieve you of your burden, Lady Avery."

"What? You could just say 'I'll be back in a jiffy'."

"I have no concept of the length of a jiffy."

"Shorter than lickety-split and longer than a shake."

"You Midgardians use such strange language." Thor eyed her and the look of confusion intensified and Avery could instantly sense his desire to probe her for information. She never thought she would be thankful for Loki, but there she was, thanking her lucky stars that Thor and her couldn't stand and chat.

"I'll stay here."

"Loki will want his scepter returned. You are not safe this close to him."

"That's what I told Coulson."

"The Son of Coul has not dealt with someone as dangerous as Loki. He will stop at nothing until the earth is his. You should find some place to hide until Loki is no longer a threat. Take the scepter with you."

"Uh huh. So shouldn't you…" She trailed off, gesturing to the large doors to the dentition room. Thor nodded and gripped the hammer, mjollmama or whatever, tighter in his hand.

"Stay here."

"Wasn't planning on moving."

He stared at her for a moment longer before he rolled his shoulders back and marched into the detention room, hair and cape blowing fabulously behind him. She watched him leave with her mouth slightly agape. He couldn't be serious with all that. She griped both the gun and the scepter a little tighter and pressed herself back into her tiny little alcove, straining her ears to listen to Thor hopefully kicking Loki's ass.

She waited.

And she kept waiting.

For someone with such a high muscle to body fat ratio, it sure did take Thor and long time to get a solid hit in. Maybe Loki was dodging a lot.

"No!"

Avery stopped breathing.

She could hear mumbling. Smarmy mumbling. She didn't need three guesses to know who that was.

She gave it thirty more seconds before she realized that Thor obviously wasn't winning. She swore under her breath and tried to steady the horrendous shaking in her hands. She held the scepter against her chest to free up her hand to flip off the safety on her gun as she stood up straighter.

"What a time to start being brave, Aves. Just in time to get yourself killed. Brilliant."

She thought she might vomit.

Something slammed in the detention center.

"Dammit."

Avery blamed Coulson for this particular act of stupidity. There was no other explanation other than his little pep talk niggling his way into her brain and making her think that she could do something other than run in the opposite direction. And that is exactly what she should do. She ran into the detention center, holding both the gun and the scepter aloft like she actually knew what she was doing. She definitely remembered why she shouldn't be allowed to make impulse decisions. Like this one, for instance. This one was one of the worst.

"Lady Avery stop!" Thor held up a hand to stop her from behind the glass in Loki's cell.

"What are you…?"

"Ah, another to join the party."

"Shit."

Loki stepped up from behind Avery. She turned around and held up the gun, arm shaking horribly, while she tried, and failed, to hide the scepter behind her body. She should eat more if she wanted to be effective at using her own girth as a means of fooling people. Loki smirked at her pathetic attempts. "Mortals are so foolish, aren't they brother. And here I thought they were actually going to make it difficult for me." He reached around her, practically laughing at the way she held the gun up in front of her, and plucked the scepter out of her hands like it was nothing. Her finger itched over the trigger.

She could end it if she pulled the trigger.

"You've brought me a gift."

"Step back."

"Are you going to kill me?"

There was no excuse for her not to. And yet she couldn't. "Give the scepter back."

"I think I'll keep it." Loki turned around and walked over to the control panel. Even when his back was to her she couldn't pull the trigger. "Take that from her before she hurts herself."

Avery's arm was grabbed from the side. The man twisted her hand until she dropped the gun. He stuck it into his belt and pulled her arm back behind her, wrenching it so violently she heard something pop. Loki smirked at the sound. She struggled against the man holding her, kicking his shins until he finally released her enough for her to scramble away from him. She crawled on the floor until she was only a few feet away from the cell and Thor, not that she could get to him. To be perfectly honest, she wasn't entirely sure how he ended up there in the first place. She tried to see if he was okay but only managed to check his face for injuries before she was pulled back by her hair roughly. Loki's guard slammed her face into the metal grating, leaving her certain she would be stuck with waffle face for the rest of her life. Which might actually be quite short, now that she thought about it.

She tried to grab him around the ankle for a moment before he stepped on her arm, effectively pinning her down and cutting off her air supply in one swift movement.

"She reminds me of someone," Loki mused, although Avery couldn't see him. If she had to hazard a guess, she would say he looked smug. He always looked smug. She wanted punch the smirk off his face and she could only imagine how Thor felt having been raised with him. "Freyja, perhaps, but I don't think that's quite it."

"Release her."

"But we're having so much fun. Come now brother, surely you know by now."

"This is not one of your games, Loki. She has done nothing to harm you."

"No, perhaps not. She did bring me my scepter so I suppose I could reward her."

"Let her go in peace."

"But then again, she did aim one of those barbaric mortal weapons at me." Avery heard footsteps coming closer before she felt the pressure on her back release enough for her to breathe. A hand wrapped around her hair and yanked upwards, contorting her so that she was facing Thor. "Look at her."

"She claims to be of Midgard."

"And yet her face and abilities say otherwise."

"Enough."

"You never were very good. Let's see how much of a Midgardian she truly is shall we. We'll throw her in with you and if she survives then she is obviously not what she claims to be. If not then…"

"You would have more innocent blood on your hands." Avery was yanked even higher to the point she thought her neck might snap. She felt a few tears escape as she tried to claw Loki's hands off her.

"What's a few drops when compared to a flood?"

"This is madness."

Avery could feel her nose crunch when Loki slammed her face back into the floor. Blood spurted everywhere, making it look like a crime scene had a baby. She was able to lift up just enough to avoid too much pain, but the swelling mixed with the blood was making it hard to see. She lifted her hips and tried to roll, only to be stopped by a knee on her upper back, compressing her spine down into the hard metal floor. "This is mischief, brother."

Loki was cracked. He had to be. Avery fought against the man holding her down, feeling very much like she was being squished. She could feel everything caving in on itself as she struggled to breathe. Her lungs strained, trying to expand and failing, leaving her spluttering and red faced. The man pressed her down harder and she felt something crack, making her cry out in pain. That was probably a rib. At least, she hoped it was only a rib. She had no plans of spending the rest of her life in a wheel chair because some outer space nut job decided he wanted to conquer the earth as a hobby.

And suddenly the pressure was gone. The man slumped sideways, landing half on her half off. She scrambled out from under him and groaned at the feeling in her chest. She had definitely broken a rib. Or maybe like five. She touched her side, probing for a moment as she laid there struggling to breathe.

"Step back, please."

Avery sat up immediately at the sound of Coulson's voice. She winced while trying to smile, making her look slightly deranged. Coulson glanced at her and she thought she saw him return the gesture before he stepped further into the room, holding the gun in his hand up higher. She could see why he wanted to get that one so badly. It looked positively lethal.

Even so, she reached sideways and grabbed her gun from the unconscious man's belt next to her. just to be safe She did have to admit it made him look like a total badass. That was something she didn't expect. She had never taken him to be the type, but there he was standing up to someone who might, probably not, be a god.

Loki took a step back, eyebrows raised. Avery used the railing to sit up further before she pulled herself into a painful standing position. Her hand shook again forcing her to steady it against her thigh.

"We started working on this after you sent the destroyer to kill Thor. Even I don't have any idea what it does. Want to find out?"

For a moment Avery thought Coulson had succeeded in intimidating Loki enough for him to step away from the control panel.

That's why it was so horrifying when Loki appeared behind him and stabbed him in the chest with the sharp end of the scepter. Blood spilled out from the wound the moment Loki removed the scepter. Avery thought Thor screamed, but all she could really hear was the pounding in her ears. She raised her arm automatically and shot, the bullet barely catching Loki in the shoulder before he pressed the button on the control panel that caused the floor to drop out underneath Thor.

His shout was drowned out by the air vacuum. Avery gripped railing, not knowing where she was meant to look. Thor was currently bouncing around through the air like a hamster stuck in its ball and Loki didn't seem to care. His indifference scared her. He wiped the end of the scepter off and turned away from the control panel, gaze settling on her after a moment.

She immediately raised the gun, finger shaking over the trigger. She should kill him. It should be easy after everything he had just done, but when she went to squeeze the trigger again, she found she couldn't.

"Are you going to use that one me again, or are you simply going to stand there breathing at me?"

"Don't move."

"You're not exactly in the position to be giving me orders."

"I'll shoot you."

"Again? You tried that once and it didn't seem to do much. It stings a bit, I'll give you that, but overall this is almost as pathetic as your last attempt to intimidate me."

Avery raised it up higher, fighting to keep the tears out of her eyes. "Please, stop. Just drop the scepter, please."

"No."

"You're going to lose." Coulson sounded like he was struggling to get each word out. Avery took a step towards him but was stopped by a look from Loki. He shook his head, mockingly, forcing her stand still as Coulson lay bleeding out.

"Am I?"

"It's in your nature."

Loki smirked and turned to look at Coulson slumped against the wall. "Your heroes are scattered, your fortress falls from the sky, the best and brightest of your organization can't even manage to aim well enough to actually kill me when I'm standing directly in front of them. Tell me, where is my disadvantage?"

"You lack conviction."

"I don't think…"

Loki flew backwards through the wall, arms and back slamming into something that made a crunching noise upon impact. Avery felt an unnatural and vicious amount of satisfaction at seeing him struggling to get back up. She took the opportunity to run over to Coulson. She skidded to a halt next to him, glancing over her shoulder at Loki once to make sure he was still down while she pulled off her jacket to press against the mangled wound on Coulson's chest.

The blood spurted out over her hands when she pressed down harder. She could feel where the hole was, feel the torn muscle and the weakening of his pulse under her hands.

"Hey, Coulson. Look at me," She said, voice quiet. She glanced over at Loki again. He was moving, pushing aside the metal and debris to stand up. "You're going to be fine."

"And I thought I was the liar." Loki stumbled out onto the walkway, bending down to pick up the scepter. His movements were slightly labored on the side she shot him, but not enough to stop him from walking past them. He paused at the door and smiled, eyebrows quirking upwards in a way that infuriated her and terrified her all at the same time. She reached down for the gun but froze when Loki lifted the scepter up and aimed it directly at her. Her hand hovered over the weapon as he turned the scepter on Coulson. She immediately held her hands up and shook her head, hands shaking violently. He smirked one more time before he turned and left.

"Why didn't...why didn't you shoot him?" Coulson coughed up blood. Avery used her right hand to keep her jacket pressed on his wound while she reached up her left hand to wipe the blood off his chin.

"He would have killed you," She said, turning all her attention to keeping him from bleeding out. It wasn't working. It seemed like he was loosing so much more than he should. Her hands were covered; the floor, the crisp white shirt he wore, her jacket. It was everywhere. She pressed both her hands to his chest and sat up on her knees, hoping that she would have better leverage.

"I'm..." Coulson trailed off, coughing up more blood.

"No, no, no. Hey, focus. Medical is probably on their way. Someone is coming and they're going to help you. You'll be okay, I promise." She could feel his heartbeat getting slower, hear the sound of his erratic breathing matching her own. She pressed her finger to her earpiece, speaking so that someone would hear them and come and help. "You're going to be okay."

She must have said it a hundred times over by the time medical arrived. By that point, not much could be done.

Coulson was gone.

Avery slumped to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Fury had said something to her before he left but she hadn't heard him. She couldn't hear much of anything, in fact, besides the sounds of Coulson's breathing playing over and over in her head.

She hardly noticed Tony walking in and he didn't notice her.

They stayed like that for long time. Neither of them speaking.

She had a shot. She had the shot and she couldn't take it.

Avery leaned her face against the cool metal of the railing and squeezed it, hugging it as if it could keep her in one place. Her hands had felt uncomfortably warm since Coulson, forcing her, almost like a nervous tick, to rub them against her thigh over and over again until they felt raw to the touch. She knew Tony was watching her, but she couldn't stop. She could feel the blood and she hated it, so kept wiping, and would keep wiping until she couldn't feel anything anymore.

She glanced over her shoulder at Tony, wondering if she should say something to him. He seemed like he knew Coulson well, more than she did at least. People usually said something in these sorts of situations, but she remembered how much she hated when people tried to say something they thought was comforting to her after her mother died. There weren't many people who noticed when she died, but there were a few and they were incessant with their well wishes. She hadn't talked to people for a week after that. Maybe Tony would want that.

She felt angry just thinking about it and even that felt wrong at the moment. She wrapped her arms around the railing and swung her legs back and forth, unsure of where she was supposed to be looking. Looking at Tony would be intrusive to his own grief, but she couldn't look at where Coulson's body had been without feeling an almost unbearable amount of guilt spring up in her chest. She couldn't look at the place where Thor had fallen without the inevitable sickness that settled in her gut.

She couldn't look at her hands and see the blood.

The only option she had left was staring at her feet for the time being, knowing that she should move at some point. Tony seemed to be the same way, but then again, he could be feeling none of the emotions she had unfairly, and without reasoning, ascribed to him and was simply taking the moment to think things over without Steve, or Fury, or anyone else butting in on his thoughts.

That would probably last a grand total of five minutes before some other impending disaster came up. Such as the fact that Loki was gone and now had his glowing stick of doom to help him.

Even thinking about that was better than thinking about Coulson.

She thought that if she had known all of this was going to happen she would have faked her own death when S.H.I.E.L.D. came knocking. Pretending to be dead had to be better than this. At least then she wouldn't feel so much gut wrenching and never ending guilt.

"Tell me a joke." Avery looked up at the sound of Tony's voice, surprised he was even speaking at all. She was even more surprised at what he was asking but didn't argue when she saw the look on his face. "Go on then, I could use a laugh."

She swallowed thickly and thought of all the jokes she knew, which was not very many by her estimation, and filtered all the one's out that had anything to do with death, sickness, and general sadness.

"What's something that red and bad for your teeth?"

Tony sighed and sat down next to her, mimicking her position with his hands over the metal bar. He rubbed his hand over his face and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "A brick."

"You've heard that one before?"

"No, I'm just smarter than you," Tony said, leaning his head against the vertical rail to his left. "You can do better than that, kid."

"What's Forrest Gump's password?"

"Boo. That's fucking terrible."

"What, that one's funny!"

"1Forrest1? That's your definition of funny?"

"I'm not at my best right now."

"Since you're traumatized, I'll give you one more chance."

"No pressure though."

"None whatsoever. Just so you know though, if you can't tell a good joke I'll hold that against you and consider it a character defect for the rest of your life."

Avery wracked her brain, thinking over all the jokes she knew to think of one that would make him laugh. It was probably impossible, however, so she decided to think of the cheesiest.

"Where does Frost keep his cash?" Tony stayed silent. Avery took that as her cue to continue. "The snow bank."

Nothing. Not even a smirk.

"Oh come on, that's good and you know it."

"What did the rude prism say to the light beam that smacked into him?"

Avery thought for a moment before she shrugged. "I don't know, what?"

"Get bent."

It wasn't funny, but Avery found herself smirking regardless. She pressed her face against the cool metal railing and smiled, peering over at him to see if maybe he was the sort to laugh at his own jokes. He wasn't laughing. He didn't even smile. He stared down at his hands and shook his head before he finally turned to look at her full on.

"You were with him when it happened?"

"I was."

"So why didn't you stop it?"

Avery felt the guilt surge back, worse than before, all-encompassing and unavoidable. She had been in the room with Coulson and she hadn't been able to do anything but sit there like a coward until it was too late to help him. They took Coulson away but the blood was still there. She made the mistake of looking at it for a moment too long and felt the bile rise up in her throat once again. She rubbed her hand along her thigh and pointedly avoided answering Tony until the last possible moment.

"I was scared. I know that isn't really an excuse, but I froze. I tried to help Bruce and I couldn't. I guess it was the same with Coulson."

"Sucky answer," Tony said simply.

"Sucky situation." Avery didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't tell him she was sorry because it wouldn't mean anything coming from her. She knew that if it had been anyone else, Coulson might still be here. "The suckiest."

"Loki certainly knew what he was doing." Tony squeezed the bar until his knuckles turned white. "He was playing us from the very beginning and we fell right into his trap."

"I'm sorry I didn't do more."

"His trap was sprung the moment we picked him up in Stuttgart."

"He's clever, I will give him that."

"We're supposed to be cleverer," Tony seethed, anger at what happened with Loki and Coulson finally showing through. She left him to his anger for a moment, letting them fall into silence. It seemed even worse than before now that Tony was talking to her. She didn't think all the bad jokes in the world could fix it, not that the death of someone she assumed was his friend could be fixed with a little awkward humor. She shifted in her spot and looked down at the ground, at the spot Thor had fallen through. That was a mistake, as it made her immediately remember the look on his face when he dropped out of the sky.

"I shot him," She said quickly, thinking of that instead of Thor. Neither were very good thoughts, and she didn't care for either Asgardian, but there was something inherently decent in Thor that Loki lacked. It made the fact that she shot someone not seem so bad in comparison.

"What?"

"I shot Loki," Avery said, although it didn't really seem like it mattered now that he was gone. She had barely managed to get his shoulder and, if she was being perfectly honest, it was nothing more than a flesh wound. "It wasn't much, but it looked like it stung like a son of bitch."

"It would probably sting a little more if I blew his greasy little head off."

She supposed it would.

"Tony, I've bee…" Steve trailed off, coming to a halt, half in, half out, when he saw Avery and Tony sitting on the floor in the detention room. "Oh, Avery, I didn't expect…"

Tony let out an audible noise of something somewhere between disgust, which seemed out of place, and annoyance. He stood up and turned around, folding his arms over his chest as Steve stepped into the room enough for the door to slide shut behind him. He didn't say anything. Neither did Tony. Avery felt like she probably shouldn't be there, but she couldn't move without making it more awkward. She pressed herself up against the railing a little further and waited for either of them to speak. She felt like she was watching a prize fight as she looked back and forth between them, like they were going to pick up where they left off in the lab. Only this time, they would actually hit each other.

She immediately stood up and tried to subtly move between them. It was painfully obvious, causing them both to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"They called it on Coulson," Steve said, telling them what they already knew.

"Of course they did. He had a giant hole in his chest," Tony didn't seem to notice the way Steve's eye twitched at the flippant response. "He was stupid."

"For what? For believing?"

"For taking Loki on," Tony snapped. Avery could hear the annoyance in his voice. Steve could too, but he interpreted it differently. A look of understanding, or what might have been pity, took over his face, instantly making Tony tense up.

"Sometimes there isn't a choice."

Avery looked away. They were both conveniently ignoring the fact that Coulson hadn't been alone. She was there and she had a very clear shot. She rubbed her hand on her thigh compulsively, feeling like it was on fire.

"And that worked out so well for him." Tony was seething. She wondered how close him and Coulson had were, had been.

She felt even more shame boil up inside her.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

"We are not soldiers!" Tony turned away from Steve and leaned against the railing, looking as if he was using it to support himself. Avery didn't know what to do with herself. Steve kept glancing between her and Tony, a look of concern on his face every time he made eye contact with her swollen nose, favored left side, and stained hands. "I'm sure as hell not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I," Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Fury has the same blood on his hands as Loki. We have to put what happened aside for now and think. Loki only needs a power source. If we can start to put tog..."

"He made it personal."

"Yea, but that isn't the point."

"Yes it is. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why? What's the point in that?"

"To tear us apart," Steve answered, gesturing over to the blood stain once again.

"No listen. He knew he had to take us out individually to win. All that shit with Avery and now with Coulson. He wants to beat us, tear us down until we can't beat him, and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"That was just a warm up. He's a diva. He wants the lights, the stage, all eyes on him. He wants his name..." Tony trailed off, a look of understanding on his face. "That son of bitch." Tony ran out of the detention room suddenly, leaving Steve and Avery staring after him without an explanation. They were silent for a moment before Tony came running back in and pointed between the two of them. "Go suit up. And get Natashalie, we're going to need her. Be ready to leave in thirty. Oh and Avery?"

"Yea?"

"Get your shit together. You're going to help us and if you get another shot, you're not going to miss this time."


	16. Chapter 16

Avery wished she knew New York better. She also wished she could take a shower and that there weren't aliens literally pouring out of a hole in the sky, but she would settle for just knowing where the hell she was going, for the time being. She skidded to a halt and looked around, counting the number of blocks she had run. She was supposed to be helping somehow, but that intention had gotten lost the moment she came face to face with her first Chitauri. She had thought she had reached a personal low when she punched Coulson in the face, but apparently she was determined to remind herself of all the ways she was terrible at handling crisis situations.

And as if things weren't bad enough, the heel on her boot was broken.

"Get it together, Avery," She said under her breath, repeating the words for what felt like the thousandth time. She took a deep shuddering breath and pressed herself against an upturned taxi cab as much as she could, ignoring the smell of gasoline on the bottom of her boots. There were very few things Avery would consider more ridiculous than the idea that aliens were in New York City. Maybe if she's had a bit more time to process it, she wouldn't think it was so out of the realm of possibilities. Thor was probably an alien, the same applied to Loki as well, she supposed, but they still looked decidedly human.

The almost constant barrage of screams and glass breaking didn't help to calm her nerves.

But then again, the gun in waistband of her pants wasn't helping either.

Something exploded to her left and she ducked down, throwing her hands above her head. She knew, without a doubt, that it was a horrible idea for her to be on her own. Someone else would be more suited for this. Natasha, probably, or Clint, or Tony, or basically anyone else. The anyone else, however, were currently fighting aliens, leaving her in her current position of trying to help people trapped inside the closest buildings all on her lonesome.

" _What do you see, Avery?"_ Steve pressed her, practically shouting at her through the earpiece Natasha had stuffed unceremoniously in her hand just before they landed. It had all been a blur once they'd taken Coulson's body away and Tony had run out of the holding cell, leaving her and Steve staring at each other awkwardly. He hadn't known what to say to her and she hadn't known what to say to him. The shame she felt seemed worse with him than with Tony, rendering her unable to say anything but a quiet 'sorry' before she sped out of the room to wash the blood off her hands. " _Avery?"_

"Sorry. They're trapping people inside one of the exchanges," She said, peering up at the building currently crawling with Chitauri in the reflection of the glass on the building opposite. The heat radiating off the taxi undercarriage stung her back, but the thought of moving away from the relative safety it provided kept her firmly pressed against it.

" _Which one?"_

"The one with all the money," Avery snapped, flattening herself against the sidewalk just in time to miss a wayward piece of flying concrete. It slammed into one of the glass windows on her side of the street, shattering it into a million pieces. She covered her face and pressed herself against the dirty sidewalk and waited for the glass to stop, wincing at each little pinch, prick, and cut.

" _Technically, those buildings don't have any…"_

" _Not the time, Stark,"_ Steve cut across Tony before he could get off track. _"Avery, where are they concentrating?"_

Avery groaned at the idea of having to leave her little taxicab sanctuary, but prepared herself for that particular inevitability. She sucked in a large amount of air, feeling the panic setting in to the point she thought her muscles might seize up. _"Avery?"_

"Sorry. Give me a minute."

" _She's freaking out_ ," Tony said in the least helpful way imaginable.

" _How is that going to calm her down?"_

" _It's just an observation. No need to get testy."_

"I'm fine," Avery said, rolling over so she could crawl over to the end of the cab on her hands and knees. Once she reached the end she wrapped her hand around the crumpled tailpipe and leaned out, ignoring the constant stream of conversation in her earpiece so she could pay attention to just Steve's voice. He seemed so much calmer than she imagined possible in such a stressful situation, even for someone who, like most people on planet earth she assumed, had never seen an alien before. She eyed the building for a moment, noticing a distinct lack of people, before she sighed and reached down to pull out her gun. "It looks like they're trapping people from getting out. A building this big should have at least a few people."

" _How many civilians?"_

"I don't know," Avery said, sitting back on her heels. "I think I need to go inside."

The idea made her panic. She didn't know how to clear a building. She didn't know how to keep other people safe. Her mind flashed back to Coulson and how quickly that situation had gone badly. Avery thought she had pushed that out of her mind fairly well, but the pressure of the gun in her hand and the warmth beating down from the sun and the massive amounts of people around her brought the moment surging back in full force. Her fingers shook, threatening to drop the gun entirely.

" _Keep your back against a wall as much as you can,"_ Steve offered, sounding a little out of breath.

" _Does anybody else see the problem with sending Avery into a building by herself?"_ Clint asked, even more unhelpfully than Tony.

"Maybe keep that to yourself, yeah?"

Something exploded on the other end of the earpiece, sending a high pitched screech through the line. _"These ugly bastards mean business."_

Avery rolled her shoulders and rotated towards the building. She couldn't help but glance down the street, taking note of the very clear path she had away from all the chaos. It would be rather easy for her to run away, to disappear and go find herself a nice little hut in Siberia to live in for the rest of her life. It would take them weeks, longer maybe, to actually start looking for her in the aftermath. She could disappear and forget everything happened. She felt her hips turn away from the building for moment and almost did it. And she thought she would have if it weren't for the sudden explosion halfway up the building that sent glass and rubble raining down on the street. There were probably people in there and, as laughable as it was, she was going to have to help them.

Avery pressed herself against the back end of the cab and watched the double glass doors. She gave herself five more seconds before she stood up and covered her head with her hands, knowing that she wasn't lucky enough to make it to the doors without some sort of wayward piece of building pinging her in the face. She threw open the door and ducked inside, eyes scanning the lobby quickly, gaze bouncing from hiding place to hiding place. It was a bit odd to see a place so clean, considering how much chaos was outside and on the upper floors. "The lobby is clear."

" _Take the stairs. You don't want to get trapped in an elevator, just in case the power gets cut."_

Avery supposed that was smart. It would be truly sad if the first time she attempted to do anything semi-decent in her life she didn't even make it past step one. Glancing once more around the room, she jogged over to the staircase tucked behind the elevators and stepped inside as quietly as possible. She was truly thankful for the fact that the power was still working. The Chitauri already looked zombie-like enough without the added horror of running into one in a dark stairwell.

Shaking off that particular scenario, she took the stairs two at a time until she came to the first floor. The sign was hanging off its hinge, but that could have happened at any point. At least, that's what she told herself. With shaking hands she held the gun in front of her and flicked the safety off. She imagined a hundred Chitauri on the other side, but that was probably overly dramatic. Still, she mentally went through the number of bullets in her gun. Taking one more steadying breath, she opened the door and stepped in, gun first, body second. The tightness that had appeared in her chest dissipated as soon as she saw the empty room except for three very scared looking men staring at her from behind a wall of chairs.

"Who're you?"

"Avery," She paused, switching the safety back on her gun. She tucked it back into her pants and stepped further into the room. "Where's everybody else?"

"I'm sorry, but are you supposed to be rescuing us?" Avery pursed her lips at him. She normally would say something nasty in return, but she thought that, if their roles were reversed, she would be disappointed as well at seeing just her after being attacked by an alien army. Of course, he looked like the sort of person she did her absolute best to avoid at all costs. Everything about him, even his tone of voice, made her think he was the type that admitted to massaging his mother's feet or collecting belly button lint in a jar under his bed. "You look like you're in high school."

"Do you want help getting out of the building or not?"

"Is that the only gun you've got?"

"Yes. Where is everybody else?"

"There weren't a lot of people in today," The second man said, glancing over at the other two. "Someone pulled the fire alarm pretty early on, so most people who were here got out before they showed up. Those," He paused, a look of fear taking over his face. "Things came in through the windows up on the tenth floor. Nobody's made it out for a while."

"I thought about locking them in."

"I did too," The third man added, causing Avery to roll her eyes.

"Well, aren't you three just the pinnacle of human decency."

Just in case she didn't make her sudden disdain for them clear, she shot them all a glare for good measure and turned around to walk back to the stairwell without saying anything else. She didn't have the time to express to them all that was wrong with their statement so she would just as soon not think about the implications of what would have happened if they had been left in the building on their own. She closed the door and stared at the stairs in front of her, dreading the idea of climbing up ten flights of stairs.

" _Those guys are the worst_. _I say you leave them_ ," Tony said in her ear, vocalizing her exact thoughts.

" _It's probably just her powers_."

" _You know, that hadn't even occurred to me."_

" _Shut up, Stark."_

Avery wheezed and used the railing to support herself so she wouldn't go toppling backwards down the stairs. She checked each floor as she went, feeling anticipation building with each empty one. " _Avery, are you okay?"_

"Why, just because I sound like I'm going to have a heart attack?" Avery groaned and leaned over the railing, feeling a dry heave coming on. "My lungs are trying to escape through my esophagus."

" _How many flights of…shit!"_

"Tony?"

" _Momentary crisis averted. Anyway, how many flights of stairs?"_

"Like ten."

" _Wimp."_

"They're steep and I'm emotionally compromised."

" _If by emotionally compromised you mean out of shape, then I'll buy it."_

Avery had to use the wall to keep from toppling over. She leaned her back against it and dropped her hands to her knees, sucking in air like and asthmatic. She took in a few more greedy breaths and cleared her throat. "I'm on the tenth, oh my god I'm really out of breath." Avery waved her hands in front of her face, trying, and failing, to fan away some of the heat. "I'm on the tenth floor."

" _Be careful."_

Through her own, admittedly, embarrassingly heavy breathing she could hear the sound of people behind the door, the sound of footfalls pacing back and forth.

She shook her shoulders out and entered the floor the same way she with the first nine, gun first, body second.

There were at least thirty people all huddled together in the middle of the room, flanked on all sides by four Chitauri soldiers. They each had guns that glowed from the inside pointed at the panicked people. She wondered why they hadn't started shooting them already. Logic didn't apply to the situation, but it didn't seem reasonable to keep them alive. Keeping this thought in mind, she ducked down behind the nearest desk and backed up against the underside.

She needed a game plan.

She didn't know how to go about coming up with one.

It probably wouldn't work to just start shooting, and she certainly didn't trust herself to have good enough aim to not accidentally catch one of the people instead. Of course, she could always just hop out and try to scare the Chitauri to death instead.

To give herself some time to think, she dropped the magazine out of her gun to double check the bullets she had. She ran her fingers over the rounded edges of each bullet, running over each scenario. Most ended up with her dead, some in a fiery explosion, and a choice few, the ones she liked the most, ended with her sticking her head out and discovering that she had made it all up.

Entertaining the idea of picking them off one by one, she moved forward and slid out from under the desk sideways. She was forced to scooch along like a worm. It gave her ample time to rule out her idea of doing her best impersonation of a video game character, based simple on her own lack of skills. She waited until she was a little closer before she made up her mind.

Not that she thought being closer would make things clearer.

Avery moved from desk to desk as silent as possible until she was close enough to make eye contact with one of the people in the middle of the room. His eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to say something, but she shook her head vigorously, stopping him instantly. He glanced at the nearest Chitauri soldier and then back at her, subtlety obviously forgotten in favor of the more natural response of panic.

She felt an instant kinship with him based on that simple fact alone.

His eyes trailed down to the gun in her hand, like she expected, and he instantly bent down, pulling the well-dressed woman next to him down with him. Avery shook her head again but the man ignored her, continuing to get the attention of those around him until no less than ten people were bending down and covering their heads with her bags and hands.

Avery rolled her eyes.

So much for the element of surprise.

The Chitauri turned around to look for the source of the disruption and spoke to each other in a language that sounded more akin to someone hacking up a sharp pile of snot rather than actual words.

What they said didn't matter because they were all looking right at her.

"Crap." She threw herself sideways just in time to avoid a blast from one of the guns, narrowly avoiding getting hit by inches. It left a large burn on the side of the desk where she had just been. The room erupted into chaos as the people, who apparently took her presence as an indicator that it was time to panic, started throwing themselves out of the way as the Chitauri opened fire. Avery scrambled on her hands and knees to the next desk. "This is going very badly."

She stuck her head out and aimed her gun, mindful of the fact that it was now much harder than it was about thirty seconds earlier.

She caught the first one off guard as she shot it in the chest. It fell backwards and slammed into the office floor with a thud that drew the attention of the others over to him, it, her, she really didn't know. She pointed the gun at the next one and closed one eye, knowing full well that the first one was nothing more than pure luck. She couldn't risk hitting someone else, so she took a deep steadying breath and aimed. She managed to hit it in the stomach before she turned to do the same to third. It slumped to the ground, leaving only the fourth one to deal with.

It would have been easy, if the man, whom she thought she had a connection with based on a mutual understanding of the normal human response to these situations, hadn't picked up one of the discarded guns and stepped up in front of Avery like he had any idea whatsoever of what he was doing. Avery tried to shove him out of the way to get a clear shot in the milliseconds they had before things went from bad to immeasurably worse. He officially removed any and all traces of connection she felt towards him when he tried to use the gun on the last Chitauri. The force sent him flying backwards into Avery for just a moment before they crashed through the large window and down towards the street below.

He screamed louder than her as the plummeted towards the ground. Avery wrapped her arms around his back and closed her eyes, waiting for the crunch.

Something wrapped around her waist and jerked their momentum to a stop in two different directions at a nauseating speed. They flew through the air for a moment before they landed with a thud and Avery finally decided it was safe enough to open her eyes.

"Are you guys alright?" Avery pushed the idiotic man off her and he promptly vomited on the gravel on top of the building. "Avery, funny seeing you here."

She stared blankly at the honeycombed eyes of his mask, wracking her brain for how or why the spandexed man would know her, before she realized she was currently face to face, or face to mask, with Peter Parker. Avery relaxed and shook out her hands, noticing the absence of the gun instantly. "Hey, Pe…" He threw a hand over her mouth to stop her from saying his name. He turned his head over to the other man on the roof significantly. She nodded and shoved his hand off. "Peach cobbler."

"Apple pie," Peter responded, playing along in a singsong voice. "So, are you guys okay?"

"I think we're fine, excluding the fact that this dingus over here forgot about Newton's Third Law," Avery tried not to be so upset with him, considering he had technically helped her even if it resulted in the worst possible outcome. She felt bad and went over to pat him on the back, bending down to see if he was alright. "You okay, pal?"

He nodded, standing up for a moment, before he bent back over and hurled again.

"That's nasty," Peter commented, folding his arms over his chest.

"I think I'm done," The man said. He stood up and looked over at the other two. He looked distinctly green and the smell of vomit wafted off him in waves. Avery put her hand over her nose and pat him on the shoulder, wincing at the sight of him.

"Sorry about the dingus comment." He waved his hand and took a deep breath.

"It s'right."

"There's a stairwell over there that leads to a back alley that leads to one of the safe zones," Peter said pointing to a door over his shoulder.

"Oh man, you're Spider-man." The man's eyes went wide as he finally seemed to realize who he was standing, and vomiting, in front of. The green color faded away in favor for a chalky white and he immediately started stuttering. "I'm so sorry about that."

"Better out than in," Peter said, clapping the man on the shoulder.

"I'm a huge fan." The man looked completely star struck. Avery couldn't help but smile, wondering how he, a man who was thoroughly middle-aged, would react if he knew that Peter was only seventeen. "Seriously, I don't buy a word of that crap in the Daily Bugle."

"What happened?" Peter asked, clapping the man on the back again in a way that caused him to smile brightly.

"Those," He struggled for words, trying to think of a way to describe them that would fit. "Monsters came through the windows and started shooting at people. The lower floors managed to get out in time, but they followed us from the top floors and trapped us on the 10th. They would've killed us if she hadn't shown up." The man looked over at Avery, causing her to blush at the look on his face.

"Is there anybody else still in the building?" Peter asked, jogging over to the side of the building to peer down. Avery, hesitant to put herself close to anything height related, stayed firmly planted in her spot, ignoring the smell of vomit and how much her legs shook and burned.

"I don't know. I think maybe some people didn't make it out of the top floors, but I tried to get out as fast as I could," The man said, sounding truly disturbed by the idea that there were still people in the building. "I should have tried to help more."

"You've already done more than enough," Peter said, running back over to them. "You see one of them coming for you, you run and hide." The man nodded and turned towards the door Peter had pointed out to him. He gave Avery one last look, thanking her silently with his eyes, and stumbled away.

Avery felt bad for him. She had had some semblance of adjustment time since discovering that aliens were real. Granted it was about ten minutes and she hadn't actually believed them, but the idea was already there and she had come to terms with it, so to speak. She thought about when it was all over and when she would be able to actually freak out, properly and without worrying about it affecting other people and it made her feel better. She watched the man until he disappeared down the stairwell, wondering if he was going to listen to what Peter said, or pull the same sort of stunt that he had inside the building.

"So what's really happening?" Peter asked, sidling up beside Avery. She turned to look at him and let out a deep breath that she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Hell if I know."

"You gonna puke if we take the short way back into the building?"

"Meaning?"

Peter shrugged and lifted his arm, pressing his fingers into a small button on his palm that caused something to shoot out of the canister attached to his wrist. It was gross. Avery pursed her lips and turned away, looking back at the building.

"What?"

"You realize that's creepy, right?"

"Friendly neighborhood _Spider_ -man," Peter said, and she could practically see the smirk. "So, no powers today?"

Avery looked down at her feet awkwardly, remembering back to the first, and only, time she had met Peter. It wasn't exactly a solid first impression, which was on her, but she was surprised he was being so friendly to her. She supposed the impending start of a possible alien apocalypse brought out the forgiveness in people. "I still feel bad about that."

" _We've got a problem guys,"_ Tony said suddenly, cursing under his breath over the sound of the battle raging on around them. Avery had actually forgotten about them.

" _Just one?"_ Natasha snarked, and Avery could just image the derisive look on her face. She pressed her earpiece into her ear, wincing as someone shouted on the other end, and waited for some instruction about what she was supposed to do next.

" _They're pilling up on Oscorp,"_ Tony said, ignoring Natasha's comment completely. _"Civilians are trapped on the upper floors."_

" _Where's Thor?"_

" _Busy."_

" _Cap?"_

" _I'm pinned down. Barton is the closest, but it looks like he's got own problems,"_ Steve said, sounding out of breath and stressed. Avery pursed her lips and sighed, feeling a foreign bubble of helpfulness growing in her chest. It was awful and more akin to gas than anything remotely pleasant, but it was there, niggling at her in the most annoying way imaginable. She supposed it might have come from seeing real people who needed help. Still, she didn't understand. Running away had felt like she such the right thing to do. She glanced down the street, weighing her options in her mind before she sighed.

" _Well somebody has to do it."_

"I can do it," Avery volunteered, surprising herself and basically everyone else. She didn't know where the desire, if desire was even the word, came from. She regretted putting her name into the mix instantly and wished she could take it all back. "I mean, if the…"

" _Do you know where it is?"_ Tony asked, cutting her off before she could spiral into her own excuse-tornado.

Avery turned to look at Peter, jumping when she noticed that he had slid up next to her at some point during her short conversation. She reached her hand up to cover her earpiece and leaned towards him, wincing as another loud explosion sounded on the other end. "Do you know where Oscorp is?"

"Who are you talking to?"

Avery couldn't see his expressions, but judging by the way he reached out and grabbed her earpiece from her, he definitely knew enough about where Oscorp was to panic.

"How many are on the building?" Peter asked, pulling the side of his mask up so that he could press the earpiece into his now exposed ear. Avery decided to give him the benefit of the doubt rather than glaring, which would have been her normal response. She stepped up closer to him and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him down so they were eye level with each other and leaned in to press her ear against his so she could hear what the others were saying.

" _Who are you?"_

"Spider-man."

" _That snot nosed kid me and Avery questioned?"_

"The one and the same." Avery earned a sour look from the lower half of Peter's exposed face. "Sorry. Anyway, as much as this will probably end up being a disaster like everything else involving me, we can go to Oscorp. After we finish this building of course."

" _For someone who proclaims to dislikes people so much, you certainly make friends easily_."

"I've never said I dislike people."

" _Must just be your demeanor then."_

"How many are on the building?" Peter asked again, more force behind his voice. Avery glanced up at him, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. She opened her mouth to ask him about it, but was met with a hand in her face and tensed shoulders.

" _At least twenty. Maybe more."_

"Let's go." Peter shoved the earpiece back into her hands without giving Tony a response. Avery grabbed it before it fell to the ground and placed it in her ear, eyeing Peter with even more confusion. Peter jogged over to the edge of the building and looked up and down the chaotic street before he ran back over to her, every muscle in his body visibly tight. "Seriously, either we go now, or I'm leaving you."

"Peter, wait. We have to make sure there's no Chitauri in left in this building."

"Hang on." He jumped off the side of the building. Avery sighed.

"What's special about Oscorp?"

" _Biological and chemical research_ ," Tony said, sounding out of breath.

"Like weapons?"

" _I'm sure they've got some. But they're also in the genetic engineering game_."

"Avery, let's go."

Peter hoped up on the edge of the building. He had some kind of black gunk on his chest and mask. He didn't even wait half a second from when he spoke to when he wrapped his left arm around her and vaulted them off the side of the building. The earpiece went flying in the opposite direction and Avery watched it until the momentum shifted and she somehow ended up upside down. She clung to Peter like a lemur and tried to keep herself from vomiting at the smell of the black substance, which she distinctly thought might be Chitauri blood, on his chest. They moved up and down, swinging close enough to nearest building, she saw herself reflected in the glass.

She looked an absolute mess.

Oscorp certainly cut an impressive figure in the skyline. It jutted out of group of squat red brick buildings, making it look twice as big and new. Incidentally, however, she thought its size was precisely the reason it was currently crawling with Chitauri. Smoke billowed out from the lower floors, snaking up the side like a chimney and obscuring the top floors. Peter moved faster, forcing Avery to grip him tighter as they landed on the roof of the building right next to Oscorp as a blistering speed. They skidded to a halt. Peter unwrapped his arm and immediately turned his attention towards the large tower looming directly to their left.

"It looks like they're entering through there." Peter pointed to a hole in the north side of the building. Avery followed his hand and nodded, assessing the number of Chitauri. It was definitely more than twenty. Her hands rubbed her thighs nervously, glancing over at Peter's profile to see if he had the same reservations that she did. She reached up to press her earpiece, to tell the others that this was too much for two people to handle, before she remembered it was gone.

"I don't have my gun anymore," She pointed out.

"We need to get to the genetics lab," Peter said, not really paying attention to what she was saying.

"There's like a hundred floors in this building. We should probably start there," Avery pointed to the gaping hole, grimacing when she saw two more Chitauri slip inside. Peter noticed too and took three steps towards the edge, fists clenching. "Do you know how to clear a building?" Peter shook his head and Avery sighed, feeling a slightly leaden feeling settle in her stomach. "I guess we're winging it, then. A way to communicate with the others might be helpful, though."

"You have your earpiece."

" _Had_. I lost it when you decided to reenact Tarzan without telling me."

"We can handle it."

It wasn't going to end well. She knew that with certainty. Peter shook out his arms and wrapped them around her without permission before he vaulted them off the top of the building once again, pulling them up towards the hole in the side of the skyscraper. Avery groaned and pressed her face into her chest while wrapping her arms and legs around him, clinging to him in the most embarrassing way possible. There was also the added creepiness that Peter was only seventeen. She made a mental note to apologize for practically molesting him later when they weren't flying through the air while dodging aliens right and left.

Peter adjusted their course, sending them careening downward for a moment before he righted them and continued upwards. They were almost to the hole when something sliced through the web in Peter's left hand just as they were passing by the large wall of windows. They slammed sideways into the glass violently, shattering it on impact. Peter tried to switch their positions but only managed to turn them so they were both on their sides before they hit the tile floor and skidded to a painful stop, tangled up in a mess of limbs, glass, and snapped web.

"Ow." Peter rolled off her, sticking his elbow in her back in the process, and sat up. He peeled the web off him and threw it aside. Brushing off glass, he turned to look at Avery. "You okay?"

Avery stared at the ceiling, allowing herself one moment of being truly dazed, before she sat up. She felt something sting in her right thigh, like a tight pinching on the inner side of her leg just above her knee. It wasn't a large piece of glass, by any means, but it still hurt something awful and she didn't know if she should pull it out and pray she didn't bleed out, or if she should try and waddle to the nearest first aid station to get something to stop the bleeding and hope for the best. She tested the edge of the glass and hissed when the pain flared up and a little bubble of blood spilled out over her pants. "What do I do?"

"What?" Peter looked down at her leg and, once again, she thought that she could the surprise even on his mask. "Oh my god. Um, is that near your femoral artery?"

"I don't know."

"If it was, there'd be more blood," Peter said, more to himself than her. "I guess pull it out."

"That seems like the exact opposite of what I should do."

"Do you want to run around with a giant shard of glass in your knee?"

"Technically, it's my thigh, and if I knew what to do I wouldn't be asking you, would I?" Avery snapped, realizing half a moment too late that her tone was a little uncalled for. "Sorry, Peter."

He eyed her for a moment before he, without warning, reached down and grabbed the shard and yanked.

Avery let out an involuntary yelp and wrapped both her hands around her thigh, waiting for the inevitable. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling slightly light headed. She clenched her eyes closed and waited. "What are you doing?"

"Am I turning pale?"

"No? Get up," He said, shaking her shoulder. She cracked open one eye and looked at her leg. She squeezed both her hands for half a moment before she carefully removed one, testing to see if some horror movie worthy spurt of blood was going to shoot out, and then the other. "See, it's barely even a trickle."

"Help me up." He yanked her into a standing position.

"We're 17 floors below the genetics lab."

"How do you know that?" Avery asked, not looking at him as she brushed all the glass and webbing off her. "Actually, how do you know anything about Oscorp? You're in high school."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Saying all this stuff you know about me. It's called a _secret_ identity for a reason."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize that the beakers were going to start gossiping after we left," She paused, limping along behind him through the labyrinth of lab equipment. He stopped in front of her, shoulders tensing.

"Shhh," Peter hissed, turning around. He looked up at the ceiling in confusion, holding his hand out to shush her. She closed her mouth and followed his gaze, listening to the sounds of the building. At first, she only heard the sound of the air conditioner. After a moment, however, she thought she heard the sound of something tapping just above their heads. It would remind her of mice, if mice weighed more and wore heavy boots. It increased after a moment and Avery narrowed her eyes, having a sneaking suspicion as to what that sound might be.

"That can't be good. Did we land on the floor just below the giant hole the Chitauri were using to get inside?"

The ceiling groaned and they both stepped back, watching as dust particles rained over them. "Back to the window," Peter said, grabbing her arm as they both ran back through the desks towards the broken window.

The ceiling crashed down right where they had been standing, sending even more dust and debris down around them. Avery ran faster, holding her arms above her head as more ceiling tumbled down, just behind their backs. She yanked Peter forward, pushing him out of the way of a large chunk of drywall. They were about ten feet from the window when six Chitauri dropped down from the hole. One landed practically on top of Peter and grabbed him around the shoulder, throwing him him to the ground, gun pointed at his face. Another, catching Avery off guard, wrapped its hand around her hair and yanked her backwards. She landed on top of Peter's legs, head smacking into the hard linoleum floor with a crack.

A boot pressed down on her chest, digging into her sternum painfully.

The Chitauri with its hand in her hair bent over her, shoving the tip of its gun into her cheek hard enough to draw blood. The power cell in the middle glowed blue. Her eyes widened and she tried to scramble back, neck straining in an attempt to pull her hair out of its hand. It ripped and her hands went up to her head involuntarily. Peter's knee dug into her back, but she ignored him, too preoccupied with getting free.

More Chitauri poured through the ceiling, increasing their numbers to ten or more. She dug her nails into the calf muscle of the Chitauri holding her down, feeling panic building up in her chest.

From her spot on the floor she could see a desk from the floor above teetering on the edge, dangerously close to falling directly on top of her and Peter. She watched it, nails still digging, hand still clawing at her hair. When it fell, she closed her eyes and threw up her hands, splaying her fingers out.

"What the hell is that?"

"What?" Avery opened her eyes.

"Is that yours?"

Her mouth dropped in response, unsure of what to say.

A solid gold wall covered the expanse of the hole, shimmering, holding the desk in place. It flickered, glowing brighter before it exploded downward, knocking the Chitauri off them. The one holding Avery down flew backwards into the glass window and fell down the thirty-something stories to the street below, taking a chunk of her hair with it. She screamed, dropping her hands from their defensive position above her head and face. As soon as she did, the wall disappeared entirely and the desk fell.

"Oh no."

It smacked her in the face, knocking her out cold.


	17. Chapter 17

The nips of vodka spoke to her on an almost spiritual level. She pressed swollen face against them, unsure if she wanted to use them as ice or crack them open. Both, if she wasn't too exhausted to moved. She stared at the bottles, counting them individually as she debated with herself. She didn't even like vodka, but that didn't much matter to her at the moment. Avery closed her eyes and clenched her fists together against her thigh, feeling her energy level dipping lower and lower.

She needed to sleep. She also needed a shower and something to eat. The order wasn't important to her. Of course, all of it involved moving, which she couldn't even bring herself to do, so she settled on calming her nerves just enough that other unforeseen disasters of the gold variety wouldn't come out of nowhere and cause her any more problems.

"Time to vacate the mini fridge," Tony said, kicking her foot. She shook her head, folding her arms over her chest in a childish way, considering the vodka once again, more seriously than before. Tony started kicking her feet repeatedly after a moment, causing her to groan and roll her eyes. "Fury's here to see you."

"What?" Avery sat up and promptly smacked her head into the metal shelf in the fridge. She rubbed her forehead and glared at him. "You're lying."

He bent down at her feet and smirked at her position.

The fridge had been a happy accident, really. She'd mostly been looking for something to drink that wasn't alcoholic and hadn't been able to resist sticking her head in once she felt the cool air. It progressed to her laying down with her head inside, ignoring Peter and Gwen as she waited for the rest of them to get back. It served the dual purpose of keeping the throbbing to a minimum and avoiding talking about what happened in Oscorp. Truthfully, after she came to, not three minutes after being conked over the head with a desk, it had been about as scary as the rest of her day. She decided it was more a building effect, the culmination of everything that had happened in the last couple of days that caused her to find refuge in the appliance, than the individual events of Oscorp itself.

"Why do you have so much vodka?" She asked, squeezing her hands tighter until she felt a release in pressure behind her eyes. She'd been going through the same cycle of building and releasing pressure for what felt like hours.

"Because the normal sized bottles don't fit in my suit," Tony paused, tapping her shoe with his hand. "So, one of your two strays said something interesting." Avery sighed and closed her eyes, pressing her face into the cold bottles for a moment longer before she scooted down and sat up. Her head instantly started to pulsate but she ignored it, knowing that the dull ache would stick around for at least a few days. Tony looked worse than she did, even including the large knot on her head, with cuts a scraps all over his face and exposed forearms. She crossed her legs and leaned against one of the bar cabinets, waiting for Tony to elaborate. She had an idea about what he was referring to, but she decided to wait and see, just in case the subject hadn't come up yet. Peter swore he wouldn't tell anyone. Apparently, if her suspicions were correct, that promise had lasted about thirty seconds into meeting Tony Stark, before it promptly flew out the window. She was trying not to be bitter. It wasn't working. "I got you shawarma."

She eyed the takeout with suspicion.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch. I just thought you would've worked up quite an appetite." He held the back out to her, shaking it enticingly. "You know, running, climbing, hiding, shooting, discovering a new power. Same old, same old."

They held eye contact for what felt like an eternity before she took the shawarma. "Where did you guys take Loki?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has a holding facility outside the city."

"Didn't exactly work out last time," Avery mused, opening the takeout container. "They're 0 for 2 in that department."

"That was before he had his ass handed to him. That kind of puts things into perspective."

"Go team."

"Ugh, stop," Tony reached over and took one of the pieces of tomato. "You're way too old for this teen-angst bullshit."

She nodded, accepting his assessment of how she had been acting for the last few days without argument. It would probably be counter-intuitive if she did. Even though, technically, the danger had passed, she still felt tense and high strung, making it hard for her to relax even when she actively tried. She ate a few more bites before she put the container on the floor between her and Tony, looking at him with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"A golden shield, huh?"

Avery sighed and pulled her legs up to her chest, staring at the bar cabinets in front of her. She toed one of them open with her boot, tapping the door open and closed for a moment as she thought about it again. The others were too busy talking with each other to pay attention to her and Tony, but Avery still felt weird about sharing with him. She didn't know him. He didn't know her. However, there was something about the look on his face that made her think he would understand why it was bothering her, even if he himself had never experienced anything remotely similar. They held eye contact for a moment longer and she made up her mind, scooting slightly closer to him so she was sure they wouldn't be overheard.

"I wouldn't say a shield per say, but it was definitely a shield-like mass. I guess more of a wall, but I could see through it."

"Sounds cool."

"It would have been _way_ cooler if I knew I could do it." She looked back at the cabinets and thought carefully about what she would say next, conscious of keeping the whining to a minimum. "I'm still not entirely convinced I didn't hallucinate it."

"I had to fly a nuc through a wormhole."

"What?" Avery turned to look at him, eyes wide. "Are you okay?"

"Clearly," He gestured to himself. They held eye contact again and Avery was tempted to tell him that she didn't believe him one single bit, but stopped herself. "Anyway, maybe stop complaining about something that's supposed to be good."

"I'm not complaining," Avery protested, earning a disbelieving look. "Okay, I'm complaining, but that's only because it would've been nice if it didn't happen in the middle of an alien invasion. That's all I'm saying."

"Beggars can't be choosers, kid."

Avery rolled her eyes and toed the cabinet door more violently, slamming it loud enough to cause a pause in the other's conversation. She heard footsteps walking over to the bar area, causing her to groan audibly. Tony opened his mouth to keep talking, but Avery waved her hand, shushing him as she waited to see who was coming over. She relaxed when she saw that it was just Steve, and not Natasha or Thor. He poked his head over the bar. He'd cleaned his face at some point, making her instantly feel like a wallowing ball of grime. He looked between her and Tony, thick brows furrowing when he saw the look on her face.

"Natasha said she could look at your forehead," He offered after a moment. She was thankful for an escape route from the conversation and instantly took it, feeling slightly bad that she was so eager. Shooting a guilty look at Tony, she reached up and grabbed the bar, finding it more difficult than it should be to stand up. Her head throbbed a bit at the change in position, making her realize that the mini-fridge probably wasn't the best way to treat a potential concussion. She blinked rapidly and rubbed the tender spot of skin, going through the process of clearing her head and calming down all over again. It was an exhausting loop. "Avery."

"She's experiencing a crisis of self," Tony said, standing next to her with a knowing smirk on his face. "As usual. What does this make now, like four in the last two days?"

"Three, by my count."

"You forgot the plane," Tony reminded her.

"Shit, it is four. That's pathetic."

"Only a smidge."

Avery smiled, turning back to look at Steve. He seemed confused for a moment, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Right, well you're bleeding."

"It's more of an ooze than anything," Tony said, earning a small glare from Steve. "Got it. We'll finish this conversation later, Avery." He clapped her on the shoulder and leaned down. "Peter only told me so you can calm down. It's just between us for now." He took the partially eaten shawarma out of her hand and walked away.

"You should've had that checked out earlier," Steve said, drawing her attention immediately back over to him. Avery touched it again, trailing her finger over the small split in the skin, feeling the small dribble of blood.

"Yea, you're probably right," She paused, scanning the room for a moment. Peter and Gwen were gone, but she wasn't exactly upset about that. It felt a bit mean and overly sensitive to call Peter a snitch, but the word seemed to fit. She wasn't mad, however, even if that seemed like the appropriate emotion, and decided that she would still have to talk to him once everything settled, if even just to tie up some loose ends with Oscorp. She pushed it to back of her mind, for the time being, and allowed herself the privilege of one night before she started stressing out about that all over again. "According to Tony, I was having a crisis of self."

"You did good today, regardless of how you feel right now."

She searched his face, looking for any sign of dishonesty. She wanted to tell him that he wasn't with her, that he didn't see her try and decide if anyone would notice if she ran away, but she bit her tongue and smiled at him instead. "Thanks, Steve."

"I think you'll feel better if you focus on something else." He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the bar, lowering his voice ever so slightly. "I'm going to Brooklyn tomorrow, if you want to go with me."

The invitation caught her off guard. If it had been her offering instead of him, she would have immediately backtracked the moment he didn't respond right away, but he didn't seem to mind waiting for her to answer. Really, there was no reason for her to say no. Steve was nice and she was being absolutely ridiculous.

She didn't recognize herself over the last few days. She didn't know herself to be such a panicked person, someone who perseverated over every little thing and let it get her down to the point that nothing seemed redeemable about the situation in her eyes. Her internalized bitterness, which she had honed over ten very isolated years was wearing on her and she thought, if she continued to express it to every person she encountered, it would start to wear on them as well and she would be left right back where she started with no one. Even if the thought of simply walking away appealed to her more antisocial side, Avery didn't think, in reality, she could go back to doing everything on her own.

She nodded, deciding that if she was going to make friends with them, Steve might be the right and easiest place to start. "Sounds fun."

"Thor wants to talk to you, by the way," Steve mentioned, probably attempting to sound conversational. He failed. Avery narrowed her eyes and leaned sideways to look at the man in question. She had been expecting this. When Thor saw her, he ended his conversation with Clint quickly and made his way over to her and Steve. He looked too big for the space, too lumbering alongside all the modern furniture, and Avery caught herself smirking when he bumped into a side table on accident. He moved faster once he got closer.

"Oh no," Avery said, bending down slightly. She peeked over the bar and ducked even more when she inadvertently made eye-contact with him. "Crap."

"What?" Steve looked over his shoulder, obviously confused as to why she was currently trying, and failing, to hide behind him.

"No, don't move," She whispered, reached across the bar to grab his arm. "He's going to talk to me."

"Probably."

"It was so weird last time," Avery said, accidentally squeezing Steve's arm tighter than she meant to. She immediately pulled her hand back and apologized.

"He's already seen you, Avery."

"This day is exhausting," She said more to herself than Steve, closing her eyes with frustration. She sighed and reminded herself to stop being so difficult. She, therefore, tried to smile at Thor when he approached them, but all she could manage was a slightly constipated looking grimace. "Hi, Thor."

"You mother's name is Fulla," He said without preamble. Avery glanced at Steve, taking note of the fact that, even though he looked uncomfortable at being part of the conversation, he didn't make an excuse to leave, like she would have expected. He did, however, busy himself with pouring a glass of water, shooting them both furtive glances out of the corner of his eye. Avery cleared her throat and tapped the smooth surface of the bar, waiting for Thor to elaborate. "Handmaiden and sister to Frigga, my mother."

Avery snorted. He didn't find it funny. "Oh."

"You did not know."

Avery chewed on her lip. "You're 100% about this?"

"From the moment we met, there was something about your face that was familiar to me." Thor moved closer to her, coming to stand next to Steve, who seemed now more determined than ever to focus on his glass of water. They formed a practical wall of muscle, cutting of any easy escape route she might have, forcing her to actually consider what he was telling her. "My suspicions were confirmed."

Steve took a large sip of water, looking between the two of them with eyebrows raised. "Where are you getting this information from?" He asked.

"Loki."

"And you trust him enough to believe him?"

"He has no reason to lie."

"Fulla." Avery tested the name, accidentally tuning out Thor and Steve as she retreated into her own headspace. La. Fulla. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. It wasn't even remotely clever on her mother's part, if what Thor was saying was true. "Fulla. Fulla Gudrun." She cringed, hating how her rough last name fit with the first. She was so wrapped up in just the name she didn't really register, until that moment, the second part of what Thor said. "Wait, say the last part again."

"Loki recognized the similarities instantly. I do not know why I did not."

"Maybe it has something to do with her powers," Steve mused. Thor turned to look at him as if he had just offered the most revolutionary piece of information he had ever heard.

"No, not that." Avery waved her hand. "Are we cousins?"

"I believe we are."

Avery rubbed her forehead, feeling her headache worsening exponentially. The pressure behind her eyes started to build and she felt the familiar sensation of loss of control so she squeezed her hands into fists and moved them behind her back, hiding them from Steve and Thor. She stepped back, consciously putting space between them just in case, and worked through the information piece by piece. If her mother was Thor's aunt, which seemed a bit ridiculous to her but she would work through that later, then, by extension, that meant that she was from Asgard. An alien concept. An entirely different realm. Not earth. Each thought made her stomach clench up tighter and tighter until she felt like she was going to throw up.

But then again, it would explain the odd things that kept happening to her. It would also explain why her mother was so weird and never seemed to fit in completely.

Above all else, though, it was stupid.

Just stupid enough, however, for Avery to know that it was the truth.

"It was not my intention to upset you."

"You didn't," Avery said quickly, half lying. "I'm just processing. It's a lot, you know." She almost mentioned the little golden thorn in her side, but she didn't, allowing them to fall into an uncomfortable silence that she used to look at Thor more closely than she ever had before.

Clearly, there were more differences between her and Thor than similarities, but she could see that there were features on his face that her mother had. Small eyes under a strong brow, dirty blond hair, tan skin. Individually, they weren't much to think about, but on Thor she suddenly felt like she was looking at an off, more masculine version of her mom.

It comforted and made her sad all at the same time.

"Well, I think it's time for you to get that forehead checked out."

"What?" Avery turned back to Steve, realizing that she had been staring, rather dumbly, at Thor for the last few minutes. "Right, sorry."

"Natasha," Steve called, drawing the attention of the redhead. Avery noticed that the rest of them were watching the trio as well. Natasha, who had been talking quietly with Bruce, with a full table and chairs between them, Avery noted, looked over to them and quirked an arched brow. She understood instantly and turned to say something to Bruce, drawing a weary smile from him as she walked away. It was nice to see that at least Avery wasn't the most exhausted out of all of them. But then again, he did have the excuse of turning into a roided out jolly green giant that she didn't.

"You called?" Steve gestured to Avery's forehead and Natasha smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're so needy, Gudrun."

"I know. I'm working on it," Avery paused, realizing that Thor, Steve, and Natasha were all staring at her. "I'm going to work on it, okay."

"I'll give you a day."

"That's fair."

"You have to leave your wet bar fort though," Natasha said.

Avery glanced over to the large wall of windows, mentally preparing herself. The bar kept her secluded, isolated, and able to process what she needed to all while avoiding the others. At least, she was able to avoid Peter and Gwen, for reasons that she couldn't understand the logic behind, as she waited. The sun was going down, but the cleanup was nowhere near finished. There weren't as many sirens as there had been early on in the day, which Avery supposed was a good thing, but the sheer volume of emergency vehicles moving around the city gave it an eerie red and blue glow.

"Come on," Natasha gestured towards the elevator, a knowing look on her face.

Avery glanced back at Thor and Steve, a slightly apologetic look flashing briefly. She was thankful, however, that she had an out without needing to expressly say she didn't want to talk about it anymore, and she took it and followed Natasha over to the elevator. They both moved sideways and let her pass, neither of them saying anything until she was out of earshot. Steve leaned over and said something to Thor, clapping him on the shoulder and left the bar as well, leaving Thor alone with a slightly confused look on his face.

They rode the elevator down one floor and stepped out. It was just as modern as the upper floor, but homier, more comfortable looking. Apart from the large living room in the middle of the floor, there were ten rooms at even intervals spaced around the room. There was just enough room between them for privacy, but not enough to feel isolated.

"Stark said we could each pick a room."

"Do I get first dibs?"

"I guess." All the doors looked the same, so she assumed there wasn't much difference in the rooms either. Still, she opened each one and looked inside, taking in the expensive and sleek décor with a wrinkled nose. She was absolutely certain there was more money in one room than she had ever had in her entire life. "Just pick one."

"All right, pushy." Avery settled on the one nestled in the corner and made a beeline for it, fully aware of the impatient look she was getting.

"Thor tell you the big news?" Natasha asked, pulling out a tiny pouch from her uniform. It looked like a sewing kit. That made Avery's hands twitch.

"How'd you know?"

"I escorted him to talk to Loki before they put him in lockdown."

"It's probably top five most ridiculous things I've ever heard," Avery said, sitting down on the bed with a thump.

"That doesn't mean it isn't true." Avery hummed in agreement and pulled her legs up underneath her. She could already feel the pull of the softness effecting her. "Pull your hair back." Avery complied, leaning forward so Natasha could look that the cut. "Oh, that's not so bad."

"It still hurts," Avery grumbled. Natasha wiped the area clean, surprising Avery with the gentleness in her hands. She half expected her to jam her finger into the spot. She felt bad for assuming that and instantly felt the need to apologize for such an errant train of thought. There was no point in holding a grudge against Natasha, not when she had so many other things to worry about. "I'm sorry."

"For?" Natasha wiped something cold on her skin that numbed the area.

Avery looked at her for a moment, realizing that Natasha didn't need her to answer. "Nothing. Anyway, where did you learn to do this? You're a Jackie of all trades."

"Clean a cut?" She leaned forward, looking closely at her forehead. "Well, you don't need stitches."

"Have you spoken to Fury?"

She nodded and Avery instantly felt herself tense up. "Calm down. You're not going back."

"What?"

"We're trying to decide the best course of action," Natasha said, pressing a bandage against the cut, making sure her fingers didn't touch Avery's skin directly. "I thought it would be best to put you on the same list as the rest of them." She gestured behind her back to the others in the room and Avery followed the motion of her hand, finding it a bit weird and uncomfortable, but her perhaps in a good way, to be lumped in with them. She started cleaning up the small bit of supplies she used and stayed in her seat when she was done, holding eye contact with Avery that felt more significant than usual. "S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't monitoring you right now."

"Is that a permanent thing?"

"That depends."

Avery rested her arm on her knee. "On?"

"On what you plan on doing with your time."

It was an innocuous statement, but the sense of freedom that came with it made some of the constant tension in Avery's chest loosen. The possibilities, all ranging from taking herself up on her own idea of running off to Siberia, to returning to New Mexico, ran across her mind in rapid succession. Part of her also wanted to stay put, but there was a commitment in that made her nervous. "I don't know."

"You don't have to right now. Stark offered up his tower for us until Thor takes Loki back to Asgard and things calm down a little bit."

"Are you okay?" Avery asked, changing the subject.

"Hmm?"

"Well, with what happened with Bruce and then the battle, I was just wondering," Avery finished, leaning back to lay down on the bed. The soft support felt good on her back and she shuffled around, getting even more comfortable. "I meant to ask before we got to New York."

"I'm sure I'll feel it more tomorrow, but I'm fine."

"Are you sticking around?"

"At least until Loki is gone."

"Do you want to go get lunch?" Avery asked quickly, unsure of what she was hoping to accomplish. She still hadn't forgotten Natasha tricking her. She still made her nervous. Natasha's eyebrows furrowed. Avery immediately tried to take it back. "Never mind."

"No, I think that would be nice."

"Really?" Natasha nodded, smiling slightly. "Okay."

"Okay," Natasha said, tucking the little pouch back into her belt. "You really can relax, you know."

"I am relaxed," Avery argued, causing Natasha to roll her eyes. "I'm in the process."

"You'll have to sort things out with Fury, though."

"Oh, come on. Didn't helping, kind of, in an alien invasion earn me at least one day off from dealing with him?"

"No, sorry." Avery groaned and rolled over, pressing her face into the covers. "But, he's so wrapped up dealing with this to worry about you for a least a couple of days."

"Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to, could I go back to New Mexico?"

"Probably not," Natasha said, not even attempting to sugarcoat it. "Would you want to, though? You've bitched about S.H.I.E.L.D. for months, but what's the alternative? Waiting tables at cheesy diners for minimum wage?"

"It was definitely safer."

"And a lot more boring."

"Killer recruitment speech Natasha," Avery intoned into the covers. Natasha laughed and Avery felt the bed sag.

"We don't need to recruit you. You already work for us."

"Without pay."

"I'm sure that could be fixed." Avery rolled sideways and eyed the other woman skeptically. "The way I see it Gudrun, you have two options. You can either keep fighting this, keep resisting this team and continue to be a miserable, bitter, 22 year old who hasn't accomplished anything or impact anyone, or you can make the decision to accept that this is what your life is and move on and do something good with the hand you've been dealt."

"Wow."

"What?"

"That's probably the harshest, but also most inspiring thing I've ever heard."

"It's a gift, what can I say." Natasha stood up and moved towards the door, pausing with her hand on the wall. "Get some sleep, Avery. Things will probably be better in the morning. Or at least, it won't be any worse than today." 


	18. Chapter 18

Steve Rogers was an early riser. Avery didn't know this when she agreed to go to Brooklyn with him, but the chipperness in his voice when he knocked on her door and the fact that they were currently standing just outside Stark Tower at 6 in the morning was all the evidence she needed to know that this wasn't completely out of the ordinary for him. She eyed him warily out of the corner of her eye and leaned back against the smooth glass building, mourning the hours of sleep she lost almost as much as she mourned the fact that she had to leave her bed in the first place.

Even without seeing the rest of New York, Avery could tell that the only people awake were involved in the cleanup. Just outside the tower a small team of men and women swept debris up and threw it into industrial sized, portable trashcans, many of which were already full to the brim. She didn't know how they were planning on dealing with the large space caterpillars, but at least they were making a dent in the sheer amount of small damages that littered the city and made it look like a war zone. After a few minutes a large truck passed and the cleaners loaded the dead Chitauri into it and went back to work. Avery wondered how long they had been at it, if they hadn't slept at all and worked through the night. She felt a pang of guilt in her chest, but pushed it down, fully committed to her bitterness until it was a more reasonable hour.

"Tony said the closest subway to Brooklyn was that way," Steve said, pointing to his left. "But, I think we should help out a little bit before we go."

Avery pushed herself off the wall and came to stand next to him, following his gaze over to a pair of cleaners that were busy throwing rubble in the trash. "So do we just grab a broom and start sweeping?" She didn't mean to sound so sarcastic, but it just slipped out. "Sorry. It's just really early. Is this a normal thing for you?"

She almost told him that she was still mad at all them as collective group. Except maybe Bruce, but that wasn only because she decided not to hold the hulking out incident against him. He also hadn't said a single word to her, so there wasn't much to fuel her continued anger. The rest of them, however, there was plenty for her to focus on. With Steve, she could also add the fact that he thought it was normal and decent to do anything before 10 am. That actually might be the worst of all.

She eyed him again, mouth pursed. He looked back at her and she immediately plastered a neutral look on her face.

"Most of the time," He paused when one of the cleaners noticed them by the tower entrance. "Good morning."

"I wish it could be better." The man smiled at them both.

They shook hands and Avery was left wondering if she was the only sane person awake, or if everyone else was too smart to believe Steve when he said he just wanted to go to Brooklyn. "We'd like to help out."

"You two work for Stark?"

"No," Steve said without further explanation, glancing down at the giant 'S' on the ground next to them. The bottom was crumpled where it hit the ground, leaving behind a large cracked divet in the concrete sidewalk.

"Funny. I didn't think it was a residential building." The man eyed Steve carefully, looking him up and down, before he glanced over at Avery, barely giving her a second look. His gaze settled back on Steve and he narrowed his eyes, staring him down until a look of recognition lit up his face. "Oh my god, you're Captain America." Apparently, this was a common reaction for grown men. The other guy, the one that inadvertently facilitated her fortuitous reunion with Peter the day before, had the same kind of reaction to Spider-Man. She couldn't decide if it was charming or very weird. Maybe a little bit of both. "Can I get a picture? Adam, get your ass over here! It's Captain America!"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck and waited until the man, who shouted at his friend again in the meantime, got frustrated and went to get him himself. Avery sidled up beside him and smirked, watching the man gesticulate wildly to Adam, a look of pure elation on his face. "Does that happen often?"

"More than you think," Steve said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "It hasn't happened since I woke up though."

The man dragged Adam over, fumbling in his pocket to grab his phone as he stared at Steve with wide, awestruck eyes. His hands shook, causing Adam to elbow him. "Seriously, my dad and grandpa are never going to believe me."

"Be cool, Carl," Adam hissed at him, causing a beat red color to rise up on his friends face.

"Hi," Avery cut across Carl before he worked himself up into an over-excited frenzy. "Do you want me to take the picture?"

"You're so hot. Even with all that crap on your face."

That crap happened to be a bandage on her forehead and a bit of ointment meant to reduce swelling on the other miscellaneous cuts and bruises. Avery glowered at him, considering retracting her offer for a moment before she decided that it wasn't worth it. "Most women prefer beautiful to hot," She said tersely, glancing over at Steve. He looked confused for a moment, then annoyed when he saw the same emotion on Avery's face. The man didn't seem to realize he had said anything wrong, which wasn't unusual for most people affected by her powers, but it still irked her that he said it in the first place. She held out her hand for his phone, snapping her fingers when he took a second too long. "Do you want a funny one, or a super serious one?"

"This is the best day of my life," Carl breathed, moving to stand next to Steve. He made a thumbs up gesture and smiled like a kid in a candy store. Steve, dwarfing the man by a good eight inches, glanced down at him, still annoyed, before he looked back at Avery and made eye contact with her behind the phone.

"Slow your roll there, Carl." Avery lined up the phone and snapped a few pictures, trying to avoid laughing out loud at the look on Steve's face. "In case you missed it, we're less than 24 hours removed from an alien invasion where your fellow New Yorkers kind of died a little."

"She's not serious," Steve clarified, shooting Avery a look. She smiled behind the phone, snapping a few more pictures. "You're not serious, Avery."

"Of course not," She conceded, handing a now very confused looking Carl his phone back. "It would be extremely insensitive to make light of something like this."

"Um, okay." Carl took the phone back with an awkward look on his face. He turned back to Steve, the adoration still in full swing. Avery smirked again. "Thank you so much. It really is an honor to meet you," Carl said, grabbing Adam's shoulder so they could geek out without further embarrassing themselves in front of Steve. Carl paused and looked back, tucking his phone into his pocket. "We're all good here, but if you two want to help out over by Oscorp, they wouldn't say no."

Avery watched them go, feeling Steve's questioning gaze on the back of her neck. She sighed. "I promise I'll be nicer an hour from now."

"I don't expect that from you," He said, stepping in front of her, blocking her view with his arms crossed over his chest. "Do men talk like that to you often?"

Avery thought for a moment. As a general rule of thumb, it was one of the more innocent things people revealed. Still, she supposed it was a little uncomfortable to witness, if the person wasn't used to being around her. "Men and women."

"That's…"

"Obnoxious," Avery suggested, tucking her hands into her pockets.

"That's not the word I was thinking." Steve, seeming to sense that it wasn't something worth dwelling on to her, turned back to look at the street and changed the subject. "You were over by Oscorp yesterday. How bad is it?"

"Well, I didn't see much of the ground until after the Chitauri were already dead," She paused, biting her lip. "Actually, I'm not sure what happened to them. Did they die? They just kind of collapsed. I guess it doesn't matter. Anyway, Peter was a little one-track mind about getting to Oscorp, so I didn't see the damage until after. And then I was so focused on getting back to Stark Tower, I sort of zoned out. But from what I saw, when I wasn't too busy glaring at everything, was that it's pretty bad."

"Do you know where it is?"

"Not off the top of my head, but I'm sure we could figure it out." Avery smoothed out her borrowed shirt and looked up at him. "I think, though, it's the exact opposite direction of Brooklyn."

"Well, it's early and I'm not in a hurry."

She squinted against the rising sun shining off the buildings, eyeing him warily. He was up to something, she just didn't know what or why. When Steve asked her to go to Brooklyn with him she had assumed he had done so on a whim. But, she also got the impression that he was someone who didn't do much, if anything, based on last-minute decisions, so she was left wondering why he invited her in the first place. Those were thoughts better saved for later in the day, however, when she wasn't still half asleep and felt more comfortable asking Steve outright. He quirked his lips and they held eye contact, staring each other down until Avery sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright. Let's go."

The clothes she'd been given were a little on the tight side, but they were better than the god-awful S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform she wore for three days straight. They belonged to Tony's girlfriend, Pepper, something that made Avery feel a little weird, but were probably the most normal thing she'd come across in a long time, the patheticness of which did not escape her. The fact that her legs were finally seeing the sun was an added bonus she didn't expect.

They walked for about four blocks in silence, Avery one step behind Steve, even though neither of them had any idea of where they were going, before he stopped and looked around. The carnage was worse the further they got away from Stark Tower. She tried not to focus too long on the individual parts, on the bits that used to be pieces of the buildings as whole. It looked like a war zone. It'd been an alien invasion, but she thought calling it a battle was appropriate, considering. Of course, that made it all the worse for her to see people walking through the rubble, trying to piece things together for themselves and those around them. They looked horrified, shocked, scared, but still resolved, and she admired them for that.

She sped up to walk next to Steve. "So, I have a question." He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows as an indication for her to continue. "How exactly is it that you're still young?"

"It's a long story."

"Well, it's early, and I'm not in a hurry." She smirked and leaned forward, looking up and down the street. She thought Oscorp was only a few more blocks away, but she wasn't entirely certain, so she picked her way through the rubble on the street over to the other side, trying to remember if they were going to right way or not. It would probably be easier to just ask, rather than wandering aimlessly, but she thought it might do her good to see what it was really like in New York, keep her grounded in the reality of it all. Or something like that. She also didn't want to talk to anyone besides Steve at the moment, so she tried to make it seem like she knew what she was doing to avoid accidentally looking inviting to someone passing by.

"Super solider serum and being kept on ice."

"That's what you call a long story? I'm guessing a short story to you is a grunt." She stepped over a large chunk of building and caught him shaking his head out of the corner of her eye.

"I was too small to enlist after we entered the war. I tried over and over, but the army wasn't willing to take a hundred pound asthmatic."

"I guess if they only weighed half of you a hundred seems about right."

Steve laughed and Avery turned around, not entirely sure what was funny. She arched an eyebrow and looked him up and down significantly. "I haven't always been this size."

"That's part of the story, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Then I'll stop interrupting."

"There was scientist, Dr. Erskine, who saw how many times I tried to enlist and offered me an alternative. There was program that needed a subject and I needed a way to Europe," He paused, letting out a sigh. "I was desperate. I think I would have said yes to just about anything." Avery could tell that there was a great deal he was keeping close to the vest, but she didn't press him for anything beyond the information he volunteered. She took a step back so that they were next to each other and waited for him to continue, very conscious of keeping her powers pulled back just in case. It probably wouldn't be an ideal start to their friendship if he felt like she was forcing him to tell her. "Anyway, that's how I met Tony's father, Howard. He worked with Dr. Erskine and helped provide the power needed to activate the serum."

"So, they activated the serum and you swelled up like a well-toned balloon." She tried to imagine it, but she found she had a hard time seeing the before state in her mind. "What happened after that?"

Steve blushed instantly.

"You know, the specifics aren't important."

"Oh, that's okay."

"It's embarrassing."

"Well, now you have to tell me," Avery said, glancing up and down the sidewalk. A group of workers walked towards them, muttering to themselves and looking miserable. Avery grabbed Steve's arm and stepped out of their way, pulling him into a little café sitting area that was littered with overturned and crushed tables. A few of the workers turned to look at them as they passed, causing Avery to worry that Steve might be recognized again. One man looked at Steve for a few moments but didn't linger much past the polite head nod he gave them both before moving on.

"It involves tights." Avery could tell he was going to tell her just by the look on his face, so she leaned closer.

"The patriotic kind?"

"I wanted to serve right away, but Colonel Phillips wouldn't let me to go out into the field untested. So, I was given the option to help in a different way."

"I really like where this is going."

"I traveled around selling war bonds for the USO. They dubbed me Captain America, The Star Spangled Man, and I wore a uniform similar to what I was wearing yesterday."

"That had tights too, you know," Avery mentioned, earning a slightly derisive look from him. "Did you have backup dancers?"

"I did. I also got to sock Adolf Hitler in the jaw over 200 times."

Avery snorted, looking down at her feet. "Well, that's a resume booster if I ever heard one."

"It wasn't bad until they sent me to Italy in '43." He sat down on the metal railing that enclosed the café space and wrapped his hands around it. "The soldiers weren't as impressed with me." He stopped again, this time not showing any sign of wanting to fill in the blanks.

"That's Oscorp, just over there," Avery said, changing the subject. She sat down next to him on the railing and pointed up at honey-combed building looming tall above the others. "There aren't any tights involved, but I'll tell you half my story if you want to know. Fair trade, or whatever."

"I'll settle for you telling me what happened in Oscorp."

Avery turned to him and they held eye contact for a moment that seemed to stretch on forever. She felt dwarfed by him, guilted almost, into telling him the full story right then and there. She chewed on the inside of her lip and sighed, nodding. "I discovered I have another power."

"Golden wall."

"Tony told you," Avery accused, standing up, instantly bristling.

"No."

"Peter? I swear, I had one request for that little…"

"Avery, I overheard you and Tony. Nobody told me."

"Oh." Avery cleared her throat awkwardly. "Sorry for the brief dramatics." Steve smiled and she noticed he did so with only one side of his mouth. "Super soldier hearing?"

"It has its uses."

"It's not very honest," Avery mused.

"Neither is keeping something like this from your team. You should have told us yesterday. We can help you."

Her hands twitched.

"That's not fair," She said before she could stop herself. She bit her lip again, chewing on it until she realized that it might be better in the long-run if she just said her peace once and for all. She'd bottled up her feelings for months until she felt like she was going to explode. It probably wasn't fair for her to use Steve as the unintended receiver of all her anger, but she couldn't stop herself. Like a snowball gaining steam as it rolled down a hill, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop now that she had started. "Teammates are supposed to be supportive, Steve. All I've gotten from any of you so far is every possible variation of 'suck it up, kid', like there's no reason whatsoever why I might be having a little bit of a hard time."

"I didn't do that to you," He said, sounding genuinely perturbed by the idea.

"Look, I don't know you well enough to know whether you're just being nice, or if you actually care, but it doesn't matter. You signed up for this kind of crap the day you said yes to Dr. Erskine. I didn't." She made a point to look away from him so he wouldn't guilt her again. For some reason whenever they held eye contact for too long she started to feel like she was the one in the wrong. And she wasn't. She refused to allow herself to feel that way because she thought, if she did, she would wind up drinking the kool-aid that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been trying to shove down her throat for months. "I worked at a diner for about eight hours when I accidentally used my powers on Jane Foster and she told me about Thor. After that, it took S.H.I.E.L.D. approximately 34 minutes to find me at my motel and then another 34, I think, I was crying a lot at that point so it could have been way longer. Anyway, 34 minutes later they put me in a blacked out van and drove me to a facility outside Santa Fe, where three different interrogators grilled me about literally everything from my childhood to my opinion on the Yankees."

"They're terrible."

"The absolute worst. That's not the point, though. After that, Fury came in and told me that S.H.I.E.L.D. was basically the new majority share-holder of my soul and that I didn't really have a choice in the matter."

"I did..."

"I'm not done. Fast forward several months, one botched plane ride, at least four bad encounters with Natasha, two gods, an alien invasion, and some pretty uncomfortable revelations about who my mom was later, and I'm exactly where I started. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't let me have control over a single thing about myself and now you guys are trying to do the same thing. I'm allowed to be upset. Without some quota, or some time limit. If it takes me six months, then none of you are going to say anything. If our positions were reversed I would respect the time you need."

She took a deep breath and sighed, finally looking over at him.

He was staring at her, sort of in the same way he had been when they first met, eyebrows furrowed. It didn't unnerve her nearly as much as it did this time around, but she still felt uncomfortable with how much it felt like he was looking straight through her, although not necessarily in a bad way. She shifted on her spot, moving back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited for him to say something. Briefly, she worried that she might have offended him, although she pushed that thought away when she realized how good she felt being able to get even a small portion of her problems out in her open and on her terms.

She felt lighter, somehow. Freer, if that wasn't too melodramatic.

"I didn't know," He said after a moment, deep voice cutting across the silence that grew between them. "I read your file, but I guess it left a few things out."

"You know, that's another thing," She started, noticing the cautious look that sprang back up on his face. "I don't particularly like that all of you got to read that. But, I won't go down that road. That'll open up a whole new can of worms that I've been saving for a certain eye-patched director."

"I really am sorry," Steve said.

"So, anyway," She said awkwardly, looking away from him. She wasn't fishing for any apologies from him, and she certainly didn't want him to feel like she thought he was to blame for her problems or even tangentially related to all of them, but she supposed his response was normal. She had practically shouted at him. It occurred to her that she might have done the same thing to him that she had been eternally accusing him of. She had guilted him into saying sorry for something that he hadn't done. Her stomach churned and she looked down. "Thank you."

"You don't have to feel bad for speaking your mind. I'd rather you be honest than bottle it all up." His hand squeezed her shoulder briefly before he removed it. "We aren't the bad guys."

"Let's just get back to your morning plans of forced good samaritanism."

"Right." Steve stood up and moved out of the little café space, the little bubble of honesty between them bursting. She felt happier than she had when she woke up. Only marginally, of course, but it felt good to have the tightness in her chest show signs of lessening. She didn't dare broach the subject of what Thor told her, deciding that, at least, could wait for another day. She had formed a list in her mind and she put that last. She thought most people would consider that to be stupid, considering it, theoretically, was the most life-changing of all the things she needed to sort through. She didn't feel different, however, didn't have some sort of revelation about who she was as a person, so she forced it to the back of her mind in favor of coming to terms with the other things first.

It wasn't exactly the most functional way to deal with things, but it suited her and kept her from going insane, so she didn't try and change it. Plus, now that she had vented her frustrations to Steve, she only had to do the same with the others.

One down, seven to go.

* * *

Avery wiped the sweat off the back of her neck and stood up, stretching out the soreness in her back. She tossed the chunk of building into the trashcan and looked around at the area she had been working on. It still looked terrible. She sighed. The area that Steve was working on was almost twice as big and actually looked like someone had done something. She tried not to glower at him, but she couldn't stop it. When he turned to her, she had to recover quickly, forcing an impassive, if not passably pleasant, look on her face.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving," Avery said, scrubbing her hands on the back of her shorts. Steve nodded and set the broom in his hand down, walking closer to her. "Where do you want to go? We could head over to Brooklyn, if that's still part of the plan." Avery liked the idea of getting away from the most concentrated damage. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since the day before, and even that had only been a few bites of cold shawarma that made her feel more sick than satisfied. "Pizza sounds good."

"I used to know a place." Steve got a thoughtful look on his face that quickly turned depressed. "It might not be there anymore, though."

"We could try and find it," She offered, not really sure what else to say. There wasn't really a stock, greeting card answer for someone who technically, at least in the way she saw it, counted as a time traveler. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to wake up one morning and find everything and everyone she ever knew was gone. She didn't say that of course. Whatever comradery had developed between her and Steve over the course of the last six hours of hard, manual labor would be lost if she did. "I think I'm actually wasting away, so we should go."

He nodded in agreement and folded his arms over his chest, scanning the area around them with a contemplative look on his face. "The subways aren't running today. I didn't count on that."

"Some of the other workers were complaining about that." She glanced down at her shoes, thankful, once again, that Pepper owned more than just heels. The shoes were a little big, but wearing three pairs of socks made up for it. "I was just pure luck that I managed to get us to Oscorp, so you're up."

"Brooklyn is my home. I can get us there, no problem."

"Oh."

"What?"

"I didn't know that you were from Brooklyn."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, it's just unexpected. I assumed you were more the farm boy type. You've got that vibe." She waved her hand out in front of her, mental image forming. "Brooklyn, though. Now that you say that, I can see it. I bet you logged in a lot of hours yelling at cabs and walking fast for literally no reason."

"That's funny, really."

"I'm gliding here!" Avery said, using her best possible New York accent. Steve wasn't impressed, or he didn't get the reference, which was probably the case. "Miss Cong…"

"Avery." They both turned around at the sound of the voice. Avery looked around at all the cleaners, confused by who had called her name. She didn't think she knew any of them that she was aware of. She relaxed, slightly, when she saw Gwen Stacy wave at her through the crowd. She smiled at one of the cleaners as she passed by her. Avery noticed she was wearing her lab coat, a new on that wasn't covered in Chitauri guts, and a nice dress paired with bright blue tennis shoes. "I didn't expect to see you over here again."

Avery had made it pretty clear to both her and Peter that Oscorp wasn't high up on her list of places to return to, just behind the helicarrier and any flavor of underground research facility.

"Hi, Gwen," Avery greeted. "Is Oscorp open today?"

Avery hadn't noticed any workers going in or out in over six hours, but she supposed she could have missed that when she was busy cleaning.

"No, only senior management and researchers with time sensitive experiments came in today." Gwen looked over at Steve. "Hi, I'm Gwen Stacy."

"Steve Rogers," Steve said, shaking her hand. "You were in Oscorp with Avery?"

"Yes. Speaking of, Avery I need to talk to you in private. Once you guys are done here, how about you meet me at Peter's so we can talk about a few things."

"Okay," She paused, remembering that Peter had said something the day before about his aunt not knowing he was Spider-Man. It might have just been her stomach talking, but the thought of a nice home cooked meal was enough for her to agree to just about anything at the moment. "What about his aunt? Wouldn't she find a little strange that Captain America was in her house?"

"Oh no, you saved my life yesterday. I'm inviting you over to say thank you and my mom would freak out if she knew where I was. I was supposed to be at the library." Gwen smiled, a mischievous look on her face. "At least, that's what I'll be telling Aunt May. Besides, she loves having guests over." Gwen glanced at her watch, eyes widening. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small notepad and jotted something down. "This is the address. I have to go, but I'll see you guys around 6?"

"Sure," Avery agreed, taking the piece of paper. Gwen smiled at them both again and walked down the cluttered street, waving over her shoulder before she turned the corner, leaving her standing alone with Steve once again. She could practically sense Steve's onslaught of questions coming. "I'll explain over lunch. But I literally am starving, so let's go."

* * *

Avery cleared her throat and knocked on the door, fully regretting her decision to accept Gwen's invitation. It directly conflicted with her plan of avoiding Peter Parker, but Steve seemed to think it was a good idea and arguing with him wasn't how she wanted to end what she thought had been a rather productive day in the friend-making department. She knocked again and stepped back, folding her arms over her chest as she waited for someone to open the door.

It had taken them longer than it should have to find a suitable pizza place in Brooklyn that was open, and even longer for them to agree on a pizza topping that they both liked. Steve was a fan of just cheese and Avery wanted pineapples and anchovies. In the end they ordered half cheese, half pepperoni. Apparently, modern food was a bit rich for him, so he mostly stuck to the cheese size of the extra-large pizza and picked off the pepperoni save for a few pieces. Even still, several hours after they finished their food and he had time to walk it off, he looked slightly queasy. She'd warned him about eating that eighth slice, but he mumbled something about his metabolism and kept eating.

Explaining to him the events in Oscorp had been easier than she thought. In reality, the situation wasn't nearly as bad as she had built it up to be in her mind, but merely a byproduct, a spilling over effect, of the things that had led up to it. Searching the floors one by one had been tedious, but effective, as they'd come across more people than Avery could count who needed help getting out. They hadn't even run into anymore Chitauri until higher up, closer to the genetics lab, but there were only three. No, the problem wasn't with the people or with the aliens or even Oscorp at all, but with Peter.

She didn't blame him for being singularly focused on Gwen once they found her in the genetics lab. He wanted to stay with her and clear that floor, leaving Avery to evacuate the floors below on her own.

Avery was annoyed at the time, considering how she viewed herself as liable to create another wall, possibly bigger and deadlier, at any moment, but in retrospect, there were a lot bigger things to be upset about other than Peter Parker wanting to make sure his girlfriend was okay. Even as she thought about her reaction yesterday in her mind, it made her sound like such a self-centered shrew that she cringed.

"We could just go back to the tower," She mused. She pictured herself holed up in her room with something deep fried, a comfy pair of pants, and a movie. The image evaporated when she heard the knob turn, locking her in to at least some sort of interaction with Peter, his aunt, and Gwen. "Never mind."

She really needed to work on her people skills.

"Avery, Steve, hi." Gwen opened the door with a large smile on her face and Avery immediately felt like she needed to smile as well. "Come in. Aunt May is just setting up the table."

"Thanks for inviting us, Gwen," Steve said, much better at remembering his manners than Avery.

"Yea, thanks."

Gwen pulled the door shut slightly, blocking the crack in the door with her body, a nervous look suddenly on her face. "Remember, I said I needed to talk to you in private. I need your help with something, both of you."

"And this something would be?"

"Peter told me not to ask, but I couldn't think of anyone else. Plus I thought you two might have access to a few resources we don't."

"Seeing as how you're both high school students," Avery finished for her. Gwen inclined her head slightly, closing the door even more.

"I'm not technically supposed to know any of this, and I'll definitely lose my job if anyone finds out."

"Stop stalling, Gwen. You're making me nervous and it's supposed to be my day off from that."

"Six of the samples are missing."

"Gwen, for goodness sakes, close that door. It's too hot outside," A voice called from inside the house, causing Gwen to sigh and close her eyes. Avery leaned closer, ignoring the look of complete and utter confusion on Steve's face.

"Which ones? I thought you said they were all there."

"I only said it _looked_ like they were all there. I went back today to doub…"

"Gwen, did you hear me?" A wrinkly hand appeared on the edge of the door and pulled it open, forcing the younger blonde to move out of the way with a slightly off look on her face. Avery stared at her, trying not look like anything was bothering her as she forced her attention back on the other woman. "Oh, hello. Gwen told me she invited a few others for dinner. I'm May Parker, but you can call me Aunt May." She held out her hand for them to shake, eyes trailing over both of them. She looked at Steve the longest and Avery thought she saw the traces of a blush creep onto her cheeks.

"Steve Rogers, ma'am."

"Avery Gudrun."

"Gudrun?" Aunt May looked over at Avery, tearing her gaze away from Steve. "That's an interesting last name. What does it mean?"

"No idea."

"Well anyway, come in before we all melt. It's hotter than hell outside today." She stepped back to let them inside, fanning her hand over her face as she got another wave of heat wafting up from the street. Avery gratefully followed her inside, throwing a glance over her shoulder at Steve. "Peter!"

Something thudded upstairs and Avery involuntarily flinched. "Avery, can you help me set the table?" Gwen asked, touching her arm, fingers digging into her skin in a way that indicated she wouldn't really be able to say no.

"Do you need any help, Mrs. Parker?" Steve asked.

"That would be wonderful, thank you."

Avery watched Steve walk through the arched entrance into the kitchen before she rounded on Gwen, yanking her arm out of her hand so she could switch their positions and grab Gwen's arm. She pulled her over next to the small, worn in wooden table and out of earshot of Aunt May. She knew that Steve would probably be able to hear everything, considering his track record in that department, but she wasn't so sure that would be a bad thing. It would save her from having to explain it later, whatever _it_ was.

"You said seven samples were missing?"

"I was able to catalog and account for every broken, corrupted, or degraded sample except for six. At first I thought they could have been mixed in with some of the others, but I tested them and, even when isolating the genetic samples, none of them showed up."

"Which ones?"

"Non-specific bear, bird, rat, scorpion, jackal, and octopus."

"That's the most random collection of animals ever."

"I know. It doesn't make sense. None of the storage cabinets, which are organized by order, were broken into. The only damage came from one getting knocked over, but all those samples were there, just broken. Someone went through and deliberately picked out these specific DNA samples."

"Why? Why would someone need bird DNA and carnivore? Yesterday, when we went to check on them, you said that it was for specific research purposes, like limb regrowth or immunization possibilities."

"That room has isolated samples for every known species on earth."

"But if its for research, why would bear DNA be useful? They're mammals. Shouldn't they be basically the same as us?"

"Every animal has a unique genetic code that has potential. Oscorp tried to code each one while we had the funding. I don't know, though. That's why I'm coming to you," Gwen paused, leaning a bit closer to her, buggy eyes going even wider. "I can't go to somebody at Oscorp with my questions."

"Were you even supposed to be in there in the first place?"

"I'm a senior research officer. I have access."

"Gwen, you're like 18 years old."

"I'm advanced," Gwen said, shrugging her shoulders as if the information wasn't something worth lingering on. Avery, however, wanted to linger.

"That's seriously impressive, Gwen." As Natasha had oh-so-elegantly pointed out the day before, Avery hadn't accomplished anything or impacted anyone in 22 years. She didn't think Natasha intended for it to be so harsh, but the message had niggled its way into her brain and she hadn't realized it until she was standing in front of the much younger, and much more accomplished Gwen Stacy. "What are you going to do after you graduate?"

"Right now, I'm not really sure. I'll work at Oscorp through the summer and take classes at State in the fall. There is a program at Oxford that interests me, but I missed the fall deadline so I'll have to reapply for the spring."

"Wow," Avery didn't have much else to say. She assumed Gwen got told all the time how impressive it was. Still, there the desire to gush just a little bit bubbled up and she had to force it down just so she wouldn't make Gwen feel uncomfortable. "Why did you think I could help you? After yesterday, I wouldn't trust myself with a pack of peanuts, let alone corporate espionage."

"A pack of peanuts?"

"Do you know how easy it is to choke on those things? I could start to hyperventilate, inhale a peanut, get it lodged in my windpipe and go out in the least heroic way since George Washington died of a common cold."

"He didn't die of cold."

"See, I'm useless. I don't even know how George Washington died. What king of American am I?"

"Well, a cold was involved but…"

"I'm not even an American technically. Do aliens qualify for citizenship?"

"What?"

Avery froze. She turned away and busied herself, rather comically, with setting the five places at the table. She paid little mind to the placement of the forks and knives, tossing them haphazardly onto the napkins Gwen set out. Gwen followed along behind her, straightening everything up, being very respectful not to say anything. There was the possibility that Gwen thought she was talking about being born in a different country, but she severely doubted it.

"Avery, what are you doing here?"

"Peter, I forgot to tell you. Avery and one of her teammates came over for dinner."

"Why?" Peter asked, leaning against the wall with a suspicious look on his face. He didn't seem particularly enthused to see her, something she tried not to be too offended about, and eyed her like he was waiting for something bad to happen. She realized that it was probably a reasonable reaction, but she hadn't had an incident all day, or after the initial one the day before, so she didn't think being so suspicious of her was necessarily warranted. "Which teammate?"

"Oh, you must be Peter." Steve walked into the small dining room, wiping his hands on a towel. "Stark speaks highly of you and I heard you had Avery's back yesterday. I'm Steve, it's nice to meet you."

A rather high pitched squeak escaped Peter's mouth as soon as he saw him and Avery had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. Gwen elbowed him. "I'm sorry. Captain America is standing in my dining room. I wasn't expecting that."

"This table's not set. Steven, I thought you were going to whip these ladies into shape."

Avery could only imagine what Tony have to say about that little gem. As it was, she was having a hard time getting the picture out of her head. She smirked and shook her head, focusing back on Peter. "Captain America is in my dining room."

"Yes, and you're being very rude. Go wash up. Avery, come help me serve the plates. Steven, you set the table since the ladies were too busy gossiping."

Peter turned on his heels and headed for the stairs, the same starstruck look still on his face. As he passed, Avery heard him mutter, "Captain America is setting the table. In my house."

Leaving Steve to his assigned task, Avery followed Aunt May into the kitchen.

* * *

Avery sat down next to Peter and pulled her legs up underneath her. The porch swing moved under her weight, but Peter kept the rhythm steady with his foot on the ground. The sun was just beginning to set, giving the back yard an orange glow that calmed Avery instantly. She let her head fall back against the swing as she closed her eyes, feeling her body relaxing in time with the constant movement of the swing.

"I'm sorry for springing Captain America on your Aunt," Avery said after a moment, cracking open one eye to look at him.

"This is probably the best night of her life, to be honest." Peter smiled, looking down at his lap. "I didn't expect to see you," He paused and turned to look at her, rocking the swing as he repositioned himself. "Especially after yesterday."

"I'll admit that I might have been a little upset yesterday," Avery said, turning to mirror his position. She rested her arm on the top of the swing and pressed her cheek against her open palm. Tapping her fingers on the side of her face, she stared at him, thinking over what she was going to say next. "I also might have called you a snitch."

"What?"

"You told Tony about my power."

"I did," He admitted, not seeming to regret it in the slightest. "But, I only did it because somebody besides me needed to know."

"I was going to tell them."

"No, you weren't." Peter shook his head, giving her a knowing look. She tapped her fingers faster. He glanced back in the house, eyes scanning the open window for a moment before he scooted closer, gesturing for her to lean closer. "I would think that you'd be more used to this kind of thing."

"Interesting assumption," She lowered her voice when she heard Gwen and Aunt May move closer to the window. They laughed at something Steve said and she couldn't help but look over her shoulder and smile at the three of them. Steve was by the sink, washing dishes while Gwen scooped the taco meat on the stove into a tupperware. Aunt May leaned against the wall, holding her cup of tea to her chest. It was obnoxiously peaceful.

She turned back to Peter and shifted once again, crossing and uncrossing her arms as she sunk lower in her spot.

"Did you believe in aliens before yesterday?"

"Of course," Peter scoffed, rocking them back and forth with his feet. "Statistically speaking, there are way too many worlds that could sustain life for use to be the only ones."

"I bet that guy on history channel must be having a field day right now."

Peter laughed quietly and pushed the swing faster, bumping it back against the backside of the house. "So what do you think caused your spontaneous level up?"

"Well, if I had to hazard a guess, it would probably be related to the fact that my mom was Thor's aunt. That gig apparently comes with the ability to create golden walls."

"And I thought spider powers were difficult."

"Mazel tov." Avery recognized the bitterness creeping back into her voice so she quickly changed the subject, looking out at the small yard. "So, believe it or not, but me and Steve didn't come over here just to send you and your aunt into a tizzy."

"It wasn't a tizzy."

"You tizzied," She said, watching as a large bug landed on railing of the porch. It sat for a moment, fat and unaware of her watching it, before it buzzed away. "That's okay, though. The only person I'll tell is Tony."

"I guess Gwen told you what she found today."

"She did. As much as I think I'm going to hate myself for it later, I'll do what I can to help."

"Good. I don't want her to do anything else."

"What?" Avery turned to look at him.

"It's too dangerous. We don't know who took the samples or for what reason. This could be way above our paygrade and I don't want her getting mixed up in any of it."

"Everything's above your paygrade. You're in high school."

"Like you're so much older."

"I'll have you know, I'm currently sputtering towards 23. Nice and old."

"It doesn't matter. I don't want Gwen involved anymore."

"She's the only reason we know about this," Avery pointed out as delicately as possible. "Besides, it could be nothing. Or it could be way out of our league."

"It isn't."

"You don't know that."

"Avery, I'm asking you not to involve my girlfriend in this. Please, she isn't like us."

Avery massaged the bridge of her nose, letting out a small sigh. "Okay."

"Thank you."

"For the record, though, I think the whole 'us' thing could be broadened to include her. I mean, like I said, she's the one who noticed the samples that were missing. And she's got access to Oscorp employee files and visitors that we would have to steal."

"So let's steal them."

"You would rather risk incarceration than let Gwen help us with something that could turn out to be a simple catalog error?"

"I would," Peter said, staring her down determination. "I'm not letting the same thing happen to her that happened to her dad."

"We aren't breaking into Oscorp to steal employment records, Peter."

"Why not? Those DNA samples aren't just essence of bear for the sake of scientific study. They can be weaponized, synthesized with human genetics. Do you want a grizzly bear hybrid running around New York?"

"That's what the lizard was that attacked you," Avery said, finally putting the pieces together. "Shit."

"You think?"

"Son of bitch."

"What?"

"I just wanted one day. One day where everything didn't go to hell. But no, that's way too much to ask," She said, standing up with a sour expression on her face. "Me and Steve have to go."

"Where?"

"Stark Tower. Apparently, S.H.I.E.L.D. brainwashed me into caring about the greater good or some bull like that without me even realizing it, so now I have to see if there's a way to get those files that don't involve Gwen or me and you burglarizing the Osborns."

"I'll come by tomorrow."

"You have school."

"It's cancelled for the rest of the week," Peter said, following her as she moved back towards the house. "Avery, wait."

"What?"

"I know you have issues with this kind of thing, so this must be a pretty big deal for you to agree to help, but I want you to know that I appreciate it."

"No problem," She gripped the door knob tightly in her hand, staring up at him as she tried to decipher the unreadable look on his face.

"After what happened with Gwen's dad, I just," He paused, shaking his head and looking down at his feet. "Thank you. For what you did yesterday with helping me find Gwen and doing this now. You've probably got a lot more going on than you're willing to tell me, with S.H.I.E.L.D. or whatever they're calling themselves, bu…"

"Peter, don't strain yourself." Avery reached out and touched his arm, making sure to not touch his skin. "You asked. That's more than S.H.I.E.L.D. ever did. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yea, tomorrow."

She couldn't quite explain why she was willing to help Peter and Gwen. There was a feeling, deep in her gut, that she wouldn't really be able to say no to Peter. Especially not when he made his concern for Gwen inescapably clear. But even without that, there was no reason why she should he willing to help him. Avery had basically put a moratorium on anything that involved secret agencies, plots, genetic anomalies, or anything else equally weird, until she figured out her own situation with S.H.I.E.L.D.. And yet there she was, jumping into something like the last few months of her life hadn't even happened.

She was quickly beginning to realize, however, that as much as she tried to understand, logic just wasn't something that applied to her life anymore, if it ever did in the first place. She thought, perhaps, the sooner she accepted that, the sooner she stopped trying to find the reason behind everything, the faster she would be able to make it through her list and begin to move on with her life.

She had already checked Steve, and now Peter, off her list of people and begun to process Oscorp and the rest of Chitauri invasion. It wasn't bad for a day that started out in the worst way imaginable, to her at least, but she knew she would need to pick something else to deal with.

Logically, she should start small a move her way up.

She wasn't going to do that, however.

No.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was next.


	19. Chapter 19

Tony knew he needed to go to bed when he couldn't taste the whiskey in his glass anymore and the sun started showing signs of coming up from behind the buildings. Loss of taste always resulted in spectacularly poor decision making in the past, two weeks ago by his count, and he considered himself to be beyond that. He took a sip, hoping that the familiar smoke would return, but found himself disappointed once again. He downed the rest of the glass in a single gulp and set it down on the workbench, turning back to the displayed armor skeleton in the middle of the lab with a scowl on his face.

"J, overlay the new weapons system," Tony said, recognizing the exhaustion in his own voice and ignoring it with enthusiasm. He hadn't slept in two days, but that wasn't anything new for him. What was new, however, were the nightmares that were keeping him awake as opposed to the usual cacophony of never-ending, never-finished thoughts. He tended to rabbit trail, to bounce around from one thing to another as he tried to drift off to sleep until he either gave up and went to work on something until Pepper noticed, or sought comfort in his older, although still effective methods of shutting off his brain for a few hours.

Tonight he had tried both.

Clearly, it hadn't worked worth shit.

" _The current dimensions will not support the new designs, sir."_

Tony looked down at MK VIII, thinking it over for half a moment. "Make it bigger."

" _The fabrication will take time_."

Tony reached for his glass, forgetting that he'd finished it a few moments before, and held it in front of his face with disappointment. He sighed and stood up, waving his hand to shut down everything else as he walked towards the door, holding the glass loosely in his hand. "Let me know when it's finished."

" _Of course_."

He made special note not to look out the large window as he made his way, begrudgingly, towards the fully stocked bar downstairs. Or at least, he assumed it was still fully stocked. The rest of them could have descended on it like locusts for all he knew. Well, not Rogers. Even though his metabolism kept him from getting drunk, he doubted he was the kind to even try. He mentally added it to the list of things that confused him about why his dad liked the bland piece of human toast in the first place and slowed down.

He stopped altogether when he heard the sound of the TV. He didn't want to talk to people.

" _So far the loss of life is catastrophic. Initial reports have the death toll in the low thousands but it is expected to rise as more information becomes available…."_

Whoever it was, they certainly could have picked something a little more uplifting to watch. He could rule out Thor based on the simple fact that he didn't know how to work a TV alone. Natasha hadn't come back to the tower, neither had Barton for that matter. Bruce was currently working on getting a full night's sleep, claiming it helped keep control, leaving only Avery or Rogers as possible fellow insomniacs.

Taking his sweet time, he rounded the corner into the sitting area, eyes scanning the couch to see who was dysfunctional enough to still be awake. He recognized the back of Avery's blonde head pressed against the arm of the couch at an odd angle, hair spilling out over the side like a long sheet of curls that brushed the ground. Her arm was thrown over the top and, for a moment, Tony thought she had fallen asleep like that. He almost envied her. But then he saw her shift and sit up and he went right back to wondering why she was still awake and messing up his plans to drink in peace. She massaged her neck with one hand and dug around in the cushions with the other, muttering to herself when she couldn't find what she was looking for. After a moment she cursed out loud, causing him to smirk at her colorful choice in language.

Never one to miss and opportunity, Tony snuck forward slightly when he saw her stand up and throw her blanket aside, mumbling louder, keeping her back to him as she kept searching. He cupped his hand around his mouth and crept closer behind her. He waited until just the right moment before he shouted her name.

Avery yelped and whirled around, lobbing a pillow at him just hard enough for it to smack him in the stomach and fall to the floor with a thud.

"Don't sneak up on me," She complained, rubbing the back of her neck with a twitchy hand.

"Did I give you a fright?"

"Shut up," Avery said, turning back around to look at the TV with an annoyed look on her face. She bent down over the couch and dug around inside the cushions once again, bending down at the waist so she could shove her arm all the way inside until a triumphant look crossed her features. She produced the slender remote that went to the TV, a basically archaic model that Tony had been meaning to upgrade ever since he and Pepper moved in, and muted the anchor. Tony glanced at the news and eyed her skeptically, finding her selection more than a little odd.

"You really dig being depressed, don't you?" Tony asked and walked over to the bar, deciding on a glass of water now that he knew he wasn't alone. "Why are you watching that? There's probably a million things on, I mean literally anything else would be better."

"Food Network started trying to get me to buy a Shake Weight so I had to abandon ship before I started to think it would make a good Christmas gift for you all."

"And this is what you settled on?"

"I find her voice soothing," Avery defended, smiling in a secretive way that made it sound more like an inside joke than anything else.

"So, why are you awake?" Tony asked, bending down to grab a chilled bottle of water from the mini fridge. He surveyed the other contents of the fridge, eyes sliding over to the vodka out of habit. There were significantly less than before, causing him to glance over the bar at Avery with raised eyebrows. She avoided his questioning gaze as she walked over to pick up the pillow, seeming to know exactly what he was thinking. Maybe she did. She was annoyingly mum about her powers and it wouldn't surprise him if she was hiding mind-reading as well as the odd ability to build gold walls and other equally weird things. "You thirsty?"

"Water, please."

She dropped the pillow on the couch and walked over to the nearest barstool, hopping up without an ounce of discernable grace. She grunted, steadying herself on the bar as the stool wobbled beneath her, teetering back and forth as she tried to balance herself. He took the time to look at her, taking in her appearance with a calculating gaze. She didn't exactly look Asgardian, if there was such a thing as a universal identifier, but she didn't exactly look normal either. When he tried to determine what exactly it was, he drew a blank.

It irked him.

While he was watching she pulled her hair off her slender neck, wrestling with it until she gave up and settled on throwing it over one shoulder, exposing her face even more.

"You look terrible," Tony observed plainly, gesturing to her general puffiness and pale skin.

"You don't look so hot yourself." She pointed to the large bruise on his eye and smiled. "I know, I know. You flew a nuke into space." Tony, who considered himself a connoisseur of all forms of mockery, smirked and passed a bottle of water to her, not bothering to cover up the fact that he was observing her, cataloging the minor details he noticed. She didn't seem to mind, or she was too tired to care, and took the water with a murmured thanks. "Why are you up?"

"You first."

"I can't sleep." She sounded like the idea depressed her. Her head drooped slightly and she rested her chin on the bottle cap, but she held eye contact with him. "I tried, but after laying there for three hours I figured I might have better luck in front of the TV. Your turn."

"I have a well-documented case of insomnia." JARVIS probably didn't count as a legitimate source of documentation for that kind of thing, but she didn't need to know the specifics. She eyed him suspiciously with her large eyes, the amber color looking darker than he'd seen them before.

He probably should have known something was up with her from the eyes alone. Then again, he hadn't exactly been paying attention that closely until now.

"I didn't think this would be a problem," She admitted, pressing her lips against the top of the bottle. "God, I'm so tired."

"What?"

"Not being able to sleep." She looked up at him and he could see her desire to have a heart to heart brimming. Tony instantly felt uncomfortable. Pepper never needed to talk about her emotions beyond telling him that he had done something wrong or insensitive. And even that was usually solved with a marathon round of sex. "When I had a bad day when I was in high school I used to sleep until I felt better and now I can't even do that."

"That's called depression."

Avery blinked, brow furrowing at his lack of tact. "I guess you're right."

"Look, I'm not the person for this."

"I know. That just slipped out. My filters went away after about one." She twisted open the water and took a large glug before clearing her throat. "Anyway, I don't know if you've heard the news, but I've decided to quit S.H.I.E.L.D.."

She said it like she had been telling it to herself over and over again for hours, just so when she said it out loud it wouldn't be so hard. Tony opened his own water, watching her carefully as she took a deep breath and nodded, confirming it. "Is that supposed to surprise me?" Avery looked at him questioningly, eyes demanding an explanation. "I expected this to happen on the helicarrier."

"Why?"

"You had crazy eyes." Her instant blush was even more pronounced on her pale face. "A little. It wasn't bad."

"I've been working on a couple ideas about how to do it." There was something about her voice that bordered on hesitant and he normally would leave it at that. His interest was piqued, however, so he rummaged around under the bar and grabbed the stash of cookies Pepper kept under there and set them in front of her, pushing them closer plyingly.

"What do you have so far?"

"Have you watched any of the news?" She asked, swiveling on her barstool to point at the muted anchor. He peered around her, rolling his eyes when he saw his own picture flash across the screen. She turned the sound on when a picture of Thor came up after his own, waving her hand to shush him, even though he wasn't going to say anything.

" _Reports of the Norse god, Thor, were first recorded last year in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico but remained largely unconfirmed until yesterday in New York. Witnesses report seeing a man sporting the same long hair and hammer normally associated with the god. Cell phone footage captured_ s _hows the man in question flying and summoning lightning in order to combat the invading alien force. Some sources are claiming that he is not even a god at all, but rather an alien from the planet, known as a realm, of Asgard. The State Department, Department of Defense, and Homeland Security have all declined to comment."_

Avery muted the TV again and turned back to look at him. "Do you think they have the same useless news on Asgard?"

"Why? Considering a trip?"

"To Asgard? Absolutely not."

Silence permeated between them. Tony hated it. Alternatively, he loved it because it meant he didn't have to try and talk her through her fifth emotional crisis of self. He had pushed down enough of his own over the years, sort of like he had with just about everything else, that he could recognize the signs bubbling up to the surface written clearly all over her face. She looked through the variety of cookies in front of her, seemingly unable to decide for a moment before she took one of each, stacking them one on top of the other in different combinations. She handed him a snickerdoodle paired with a sand tart. She was deflecting plain as day and he decided he wasn't going to let her get away with it entirely.

"You have to wonder a little bit," He probed as he ate the odd combination, expecting it to be an assault on all things culinary.

"I guess." Avery was visibly uncomfortable. "Mostly, I just have a lot of questions. Like, can I breathe in space? Is this actually what I look like, or do I have another form? One with scales?"

"Those are all things I would want to know."

"Right? But also, if I die, which is a distinct possibility hanging out with you guys, what happens?"

"I would want to know if you're in line for the throne," Tony mused, finishing off his cookies and grabbing another.

"What?" Tony looked up at her, hand hovering over the last chocolate chip. Her eyebrows knit together as she pursed her lips, processing for a moment before her mouth fell open in a comical 'o' shape and she shook her head vigorously. "No. Don't be dumb."

"Thor's a prince. Logically speaking, you might be a princes…"

"Don't." Avery looked slightly green and Tony couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh come on, you aren't at least a little curious?"

She mulled over the idea in her mind, face showing her thought process as clearly as if she was saying it out loud. "I'm not."

She was a liar, and a poor one at that. As much as he wanted to needle her, he made up his mind to play the long game, rather than bugging her until she shut down for good. "You were going to tell me your ideas," Tony reminded her.

"Right. So, I've been thinking of ways to effectively get Fury to actually listen to me when I tell him I'm done." She folded her right leg up underneath her and held out her hand with all five of her fingers. She wiggled them. "I have five and a half plans, but only two of them are realistic."

Tony walked around and sat in the other barstool, settling in for, what he assumed, was a long conversation. He took a long swig of his water and gestured for her to continue, feeling the annoying signs of sobering up at the edges of his brain. The dull throbbing that he'd managed to stave off creeped back, tempting him to reach over the bar and grab something else. He would have to settle for using her as a suitable distraction until the new armor frame finished fabricating.

Much to his horror.

"The first month I was there I thought about faking some sort of terrible illness that would get me hospitalized."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has doctors," Tony said, narrowing his eyes slightly. That was probably one of the stupidest escape plans he had ever heard, but he didn't say so, content to wait and see if she improved with her subsequent ideas.

"I know," She agreed, lowering her pinky finger. "After I realized that, I started to think about just sneaking out. I actually did when Loki showed up at the same facility I was at, but they caught me again." She lowered a second finger. That idea was marginally more well-thought out than the first, but smacked of the kind of desperation he expected from someone in her situation. "The third involved a lot of supplies I didn't have and me seducing an agent."

"Saucy."

"Thank you." Avery preened her hair dramatically and lowered her third finger. "The fourth is so stupid it didn't even make it past the initial planning phase."

"Come on, don't be selfish. I've got nothing else to do while I wait."

"No. I'm sure you didn't tell everybody all your failed Iron Man suit designs."

"Well, no. I am a genius. I have a reputation to maintain."

"Maybe I'll tell you later," Avery said, not yielding. "It's so dumb. So, so, so dumb."

"Fine. What's the last plan and a half?"

Avery popped her leg up and pressed her chin against her knee, avoiding eye contact with him the in the most awkward way imaginable, leading him to think that the last one, and a half apparently, was just as poorly planned as the first one. She started chewing on her lip nervously, fingers picking at the brim of her water bottle until she peeled off a thin little strip of plastic. She was making him antsy just looking at her.

"It's a little out of the blue," She said, tone hedging for unknown reasons. "And I totally understand if you say no. I don't want you to feel like I'm putting you on the spot or anything."

"You're stalling."

"You could hire me at Stark Industries." She pivoted on the stool and looked back at the TV anchor.

"Doing what exactly?" Tony was aware that Pepper would glare at him for not immediately saying yes to Avery, but he couldn't help but press her for a little more information. As far as he could tell there wasn't a connection between working for him and getting away from S.H.I.E.L.D..

"I have a theory." She sat up even more, back straight. "While I was watching I noticed that some of the people who still haven't been found in the rubble were listed with the companies they worked for. So, two men who worked out of the Hammer Industries office here haven't been found yet, and five people are missing from Oscorp. The same with the Pym Tech office."

"You want Stark Industries associated with your name."

"I'm going to tell Fury that I quit and I need that as leverage," She said, confidence visibly swelling when he didn't immediately shut her down. "If I disappear again and I work for a company as big as Stark Industries, somebody would notice. I wouldn't be the same anonymous serial job quitter, I'd be a Stark employee."

"It took you way less time to grow a pair than I thought it would," Tony admitted, taking another small sip. He couldn't help but feel a little impressed by the thought process, even if it wasn't fully fleshed out. "It's smart, I'll give you that."

"Is that a yes?"

"I didn't say that."

She deflated.

"It was jus…"

"I'm going to stop you right there." Tony leaned forward and set his water down. "I'll give you a job."

"You will?"

"Of course," Tony stood up, sensing that if he sat there any longer she would start talking about emotions or something else equally cringey for him. "Don't look so nervous, kid."

"I'm not nervous," She protested.

"You're peeling the plastic off that bottle."

She dropped her hands into her lap and straightened her neck. "See, cool as a cucumber."

"This is you not being nervous?" He gestured up and down, shaking his head in amusement as he closed the container of cookies. "Here's the deal. I don't know everything that happened with you and S.H.I.E.L.D. and I don't think I want to. But if you're telling me that you've wanted out for a while and they aren't letting you leave, then I'm going to help you."

"You don't know me."

"You're right. But from what I can tell, you've got a lot more potential than just spending your time fighting back and forth with some eye-patched bastard."

"I don't want you to do this because you feel bad for me." She gripped the side of the bar, mouth tightening up.

"I'm 100% doing this because I feel bad for you. You've had a pretty shitty couple of months and normally I wouldn't care, but you've got a bit more power than the average sad sack you meet walking down the street."

"I'll be a janitor, or I'll work in the mailroom. Seriously, whatever."

Tony made a big show of rolling his eyes just so she would know what he thought of that particular idea. He didn't quite know what it was about her, and he wasn't about to think over it for too long, but he liked her. "How about HR?"

"Doing what?"

"We'll figure it out."

She looked like she might cry for a moment, causing Tony to glance away from her out of sheer discomfort. When he didn't hear the tell-tale signs of her sucking in air and sniffling to herself, he turned his gaze on her again, raising his eyebrows at the pure happiness on her face. She curled her arms against her chest and smiled brightly, biting her lips to avoid looking too manic. It didn't exactly work. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little warmth in his chest knowing that he was able to help her.

Or it could have been heartburn.

Or whatever.

"Tony, I ca…"

"Let's not dwell on the mushy gushy shit, kid."

" _Sir, Captain Rogers is coming up_." Avery jumped at the sudden interruption of JARVIS.

"Thanks, J."

Tony had just enough time to make it look like he wasn't currently being held together with coffee, whiskey, and his own overly generous estimation about how long a human could stay awake without dying before the elevator dinged and Rogers stepped out, looking as chipper and annoying as ever. Tony felt himself tense up just as Avery relaxed, probably making them look very weird to the new addition. Whether because of their differences in posture, or the fact that it was abundantly clear neither of them had slept, he instantly looked confused.

"What's going on?"

"Secret meeting. You're not invited."

"Shut up, Tony. Hi, Steve."

"Did you sleep?" Rogers asked, walking across the room. He was dressed for a run, the idea of which literally repulsed Tony, and looked remarkably well-rested for a guy who just witnessed an alien invasion. The least he could do would be to at least pretend to be bothered. He noticed that Rogers' question was directed more at Avery than himself, so he sat back and let her answer, begrudgingly interested to see how it would all play out.

They'd spent the entire day together and hadn't come back looking like they wanted to kill each other, so Tony had to assume they at least tolerated each other. There was another two hours before the fabrication would be done and it wasn't like he was going to sleep any time soon. He had to keep his mind occupied somehow, meaning he was stuck watching the two of them as his thoughts away from the Chitauri now that it was clear Avery wasn't going to be talking much more about her constant problems of the secret government agency variety. He scowled, sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I tried," Avery said, making it sound like she actually had. Tony shot her a look when Rogers wasn't looking at him. She stuck her tongue out in response before continuing, "Are you going for a run?"

"I feel better when I'm keeping active," He paused, moving to lean against the bar. He looked over at Tony and they held eye contact for a moment until he finally looked back at Avery, a small smile on his face. "Do you want to come with me?"

"I, uh, no." She sounded like she was struggling not to offend him. "I actually should probably go to bed and try and at least get a little bit of sleep. Thanks, though."

Avery stood up, stretching out her arms and legs until her shoulders and hips popped. She pushed the bar stool in and turned back to Tony, holding her hands behind her back awkwardly.

Tony rolled his eyes again.

"Don't make it weird. We'll talk details later."

She smiled gratefully, clearly thankful that they didn't have to talk to it anymore. "Have a good run, Steve." With a small wave, she walked over to the elevator and pressed the down button.

"Avery, wait."

"Yeah?"

"You didn't tell me the last half idea."

Avery glanced back at the elevator as it opened behind her. She stared at it for a moment, holding her arm out to keep it from closing. Eventually she turned back to look at them both, smiling ever so slightly. "I was going to kill him."

Tony didn't even need to look at Rogers to know that the statement probably horrified. Tony, however, found it funny. She had said it was half a plan, so he highly doubted she was serious.

"Plan five works better," Tony said, causing her to nod in agreement.

"Plus, prison orange isn't my color." She waved again and stepped into the elevator, leaving them standing in a silence that was decidedly more pronounced than it'd been earlier.

"What was that about?" Rogers immediately asked, rounding on Tony.

"Unpucker, Captain, she was kidding," Tony scoffed. "Although it would be interesting to see her try. She might have a hidden talent for murder just waiting to burst forth and flourish. She's got enough anger for it."

"That's not funny."

"Don't you have a healthy, balanced lifestyle to maintain?"

"She told you."

"About?"

"Quitting S.H.I.E.L.D.," Rogers said, moving to take Avery's vacated seat.

"How much did she tell you?"

"That she wanted to leave. Has for a while."

Tony made a noncommittal noise at the back of his throat and chugged the rest of his water. He tossed the bottle in the trash, already thinking about getting back to his work now that his diversion had fled the scene. He assumed, if Rogers was getting ready to go on a run, it was close to six, if not a little after. Pepper would be getting up soon and she would expect him to be somewhat awake, so he thought about brewing a pot of coffee and mainlining it before she made it downstairs.

"I'd stay away from the tower if you want to avoid the paparazzi," Tony said closing his eyes and rubbing them. The other man didn't seem to understand what Tony meant, but he nodded and stood up. Tony felt himself relax when he showed signs of leaving, although he did his best to keep it from appearing on his face.

There was no part of him that wanted to have a long, drawn out conversation with Rogers, even if it involved gossiping about his teammates.

"Bye, Stark," Rogers said. He didn't say anything else as he went over to elevator.

Tony relaxed when he was gone, enjoying the silence more than he should.

He looked around the empty penthouse, knowing that it was too late to sleep, even if he wanted to. "How long until the fabrication finishes?"

" _1 hour, 23 minutes, sir."_ Tony sighed and looked down at his feet, feeling antsy at the thought of having nothing to do for almost an hour and a half. He felt the panic begin to set it, the fear and uncertainty that had plagued his thoughts and dreams, keeping him awake for two days straight. He needed something else. _"Might I suggest a nap?"_

"You finish decrypting and sorting the S.H.I.E.L.D. files?" Tony asked, walking back to the stairs, an idea forming.

" _Yes. Is there a specific file you'd like to view?"_

"Pull up everything about Avery Gudrun," Tony said. "Put it in its own file."

" _Label?"_ Tony smirked and walked over to the coffee pot in the corner of the lab, already thinking of the perfect name, although Avery would probably disagree. 

"Pinocchio."


	20. Chapter 20

"How much sleep have you gotten in the last few days?"

Avery blinked, struggling to keep her eyes open as she thought over Director Fury's question. Under normal circumstances she would have responded with the highest grade snark imaginable, but at the moment she couldn't even see straight, let alone do math without making her pounding headache even worse. She couldn't tell if it was the slight hangover she was sporting, or the fact that Fury thought it was even remotely decent to have meeting at seven in the morning, or some ungodly combination of both, but she felt like her head was swelling bigger and bigger with each passing moment.

"Enough to not slip into a coma," She paused, leaning forward to rest her head on her balled up fist, regarding Fury with a dark look that she hoped conveyed her general feelings overall towards him. "Unfortunately, for us all."

"I have field reports I need to go over with you." Fury gestured to the thick folder on the table between them and Avery instantly thought of the first time they had done this song and dance. It hadn't gone particularly well, by her estimation, so she didn't have high hopes for how it was going to turn out the second time around.

"About me?"

"Among others."

"Tell me your account of the events of the Chitauri invasion." He opened the folder and took out a pen from his pocket, clicking it three times without looking away from her once. It was unnerving, just as he intended it to be, and made her instantly nervous.

She shifted in her spot and sat up, folding her hands together in her lap. "Same as everyone else, really."

"And Mr. Parker would agree?"

"We're talking about me," Avery snapped, feeling some of the tiredness wash off her as she leaned forward. "As far as I'm concerned, Peter Parker wasn't even there."

They held eye contact again for a solid minute, neither willing, it seemed, to break the silence. Fury seemed haggard. She could see that, now that she was staring at him. She didn't feel sorry for him. As she had expressed more times than she could count, she held very little sympathy in her heart for people who woke her up so early. She also hated him, but that was a petty emotion that she pushed down in favor of her more effective, less dramatic feelings of determination that would make sure she accomplished what she needed to.

And all before breakfast too.

"You're very protective of someone you just met. Why?"

Avery bristled. "Because I don't want him to end up like me."

"Like you?"

"A prisoner."

"Is that how it was?" Fury raised his eyebrows, tone bordering on mocking. "The way I see it, you had access to some of the most highly trained professionals in the world so that you could actually learn to use the gifts you have been given rather than pissing them away just like everything else."

"You need to work on your delivery."

"And you need to grow up."

Avery glowered at him. "I don't work for you anymore."

"Yet, here we are."

"Look, I understand I can do some pretty valuable shit. I get that, but that doesn't give your or anybody else the right to tell me what I can or can't do with my life."

Fury closed the folder, expressing a calmness that scared her. "Have you heard of A.I.M.?" She shook her head, unsure of where he was going. "The Hand? Ten Rings?"

"No."

"What about Russia?"

"Clearly."

"Every single one of them, and about a hundred other groups and governments just like them, would kill to have someone like you in their pocket."

"You've already told me."

"I thought I needed to say it again, considering how it still hasn't sunk into your thick skull. This wasn't a punishment or some kind of cosmic joke. This protected you just as much as it benefited me."

"I quit," Avery said, finding her voice after a moment. "It doesn't matter how you try and spin this."

"I'm not spinning anything." He sounded frustrated. "You can't quit a job you never had in the first place. I offered you help and training and you refused. You dug your heels in like a child and whined and complained about how unfair it was, or how inhumanely we were treating you while eating three square meals a day. "

"I don't eat breakfast," Avery said, without really thinking. It clearly didn't amuse Fury, but she didn't think much of anything did.

"I'm going to present a situation for you and I want you to tell me what you would do." Avery set back slightly, skepticism filling her chest. She was sure he was going to make her look like a fool, more than he already had in the last five months, but there wasn't much she could do about that, so she nodded and he continued. "Imagine you're thirsty while here in New York and you go to a small café to get something cold to drink. It's hot and there's a lot of people. You push your way through to the counter and bump into a man wearing a suit. You apologize and touch his arm. It's barely a millisecond, but it does the trick. He tells you that he works for a joint task force out of Moscow that deals with eastern European terrorists groups."

"I would walk away."

"Not an option. He's like Jane Foster and he realizes that you've taken something from him the moment it slips out of his mouth, something he can never get back."

"I…"

"He pulls you out of the café and into the side alley and holds a gun to your head, threatening to kill you if you don't tell him who you work for."

"No one."

"Wrong answer," He said sharply, forcing her to fight the desire to recoil visibly. "In that two second interaction you've laid waste to their entire security apparatus. You think he's just going to let you go? No, he would either kill you, or find a way to use you. For what? A drink. What happens if it's a bigger fish, someone like the secretary of state or the president? What if it's someone like me?"

"I wouldn't do that."

"You didn't know that Jane Foster was anybody and look what happened."

"That isn't my fault."

"It never is." Fury folded his arms over his chest and leaned back. "It wasn't your fault that Jane Foster told you about Thor, or that you can somehow cause Dr. Banner and Thor to manifest their abilities."

"If you hadn't kidnapped me…"

"Enough!" Fury snapped, standing up. Avery shrunk back, the chair scrapping across the floor violently. "You have the ability to steal nuclear launch codes if you want, determine whether or not Area 51 is real, reveal what actually happened on September 11."

"I didn…"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. exists exactly because people like you need to be kept in check. It's a bitter pill that you better get to swallowing."

Avery choked down the spit that had gathered in her mouth, hoping that her shaking wasn't visible. "All I've ever wanted was to be normal. To sit down next to someone and ask them how their day is going without finding out they're a pedophile, or a serial rapist, or some sick combination of the two."

"You aren't and you can't."

"What am I supposed to do?" Avery felt her eyes welling up against her will. She scrubbed them furiously, hating how her own emotions betrayed her. "Am I supposed to say sorry and report to work tomorrow at 9 am, like the last five months didn't happen?"

"No. Why do you think I'm here?" Avery's hands froze, fingers pausing as they pressed into her eyes. "An unhappy employee is an unproductive one. In your case, a lack of productivity leads to you discovering classified information."

"I think you should let me quit. Go our separate ways."

"We both know that was never going to happen. Do better."

"Tony offered me a job, well I asked him to offer me a job and he did. Same thing, really," Avery said, exhausted brain trying to keep up with the conversation. "And I want to take it."

"Doing what?"

"Human resources, probably. I don't know." Fury blinked, eyebrows raised. "I got it into my head that if I found another job, one with lawyers and shit, you wouldn't be able to make me disappear off the face of the earth like last time."

"What makes you think working for Stark is going to be any different than working for S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Well, I'll get paid, for one thing."

Fury nodded, looking back down at the folder on the table. He tapped his fingers on the cover, regarding her like he had a proverbial ace up his sleeve. She instantly felt more uncomfortable, like she had somehow said something stupid and wrong and had lost whatever edge she might have had. Fury still stood, but she did as well, trying to put them back on the same level. "We're paying you."

"Bullshit."

Fury opened the folder and pulled out a sheet of paper, sliding it towards her without so much as a face muscle moving. Avery, against her better judgement, felt her curiosity get the better of her. She grabbed it, flipping it over so she could scan it quickly. "That's," She paused, reading the number again just in case her mind had accidentally added a zero, or a few more, by mistake. It hadn't. "That's a lot of money."

"Consider it back pay."

"You're bribing me."

"No. I don't do that." Fury walked around the table and stood next to her, leaning against the edge with his arms crossed. She leaned back.

"Tony will pay me."

"For using your powers."

"He wouldn't make me do that," Avery protested, although she didn't really have much reason to think so. "If I'm going to use my powers, I might has well do it for a friend, rather than some faceless government organization."

"You're naïve, Gudrun, but not dumb. You know this isn't how this plays out."

"Then why don't you just tell me so we can just skip all this back and forth and we can go back to wishing the other didn't exist."

"I have a proposal."

"So do I," Avery fired back, reaching the end of her patience with the conversation. "You first."

"Right now only a handful of people know about you and what you can do. I intend to keep it that way, but it would be a lot easier if you met me halfway."

"What does that mean?"

"You continue to do what you've always done. You interrogate people and work on controlling and perfecting your abilities."

"That doesn't sound like meeting halfway," Avery snorted, sitting back down. She leaned back in her chair and peered up at him, lips drawn in a tight line. "That sounds like you getting exactly what you want. Here's my counter offer; I take the job at Stark Industries, whatever that may be, and, if you leave me alone most of the time, I might be willing to help you out occasionally. Maybe."

"That's hardly halfway either."

"What do you want from me?" Avery asked, frazzled energy dipping so low she almost couldn't hold onto it anymore. Dealing with Fury exhausted her, on even her best days, although it had been a long time since she had had one. "I've been thinking about this for months. You can't expect me to suddenly be okay with knowingly signing away my soul to you. At least before I could tell myself, if given the choice, I wouldn't even consider living in the same country as you, let alone working for you. Now, I don't even know."

"Once a month."

"What?"

"You come in once a month and the rest of your time is yours. You can work for Stark, or sit around doing nothing, or hell, you could move back to New Mexico for all I care. If I see you once a month in D.C. and you do exactly as I ask, no questions, I don't see why this can't work out for both of us."

Avery considered it for a moment, finding it hard to even consider agreeing to once a month. She looked at her fingers, observing the mottled bruising on the first three and sighed. She could tell Fury that she refused to work for him until she was blue in the face, it still wouldn't make a difference. "Once a month, three days max."

"Five."

"Four," Avery countered, shoulders pressed back, neck straight. "Travel expenses covered."

"Of cou…"

"And I want hazard pay for all the shit that happened with Loki."

"Fine."

Her January self hated her, but her May self couldn't help but feel slightly relieved. The truth of what Fury said resonated with her, even if she was loathe to admit it on principle alone. She wondered, fleetingly, how things would have gone if she hadn't dug her heels in when they first met, if she would have been able to control her powers by this point. She might even have known she had a second ability. It was probably the same thought process Fury had, perhaps even being the cause of the animosity between them. He had used the term gift, but she had never seen it that way. It was hard to see it that way when she was younger, but she could understand why others might see it that way.

"What would my status be?"

"Agent, officially."

"I could stay here?"

"You'll have to take that up with Stark. If he says no, your salary would easily cover a new place," He said, tone less hostile now that it seemed she was finally agreeing to his terms.

"I want this all in writing," Avery said after a moment of deliberation.

"Someone from legal will come by tomorrow. You'll need to come to headquarters to work out the specifics, but you can sign the contract."

"Why didn't you do this from the beginning?"

"I didn't trust you," He paused, tucking the folder underneath his chest. "I still don't. I do, however, know when it's time to stay the course and when a detour is necessary."

Avery bit her lip and studied his face one more time, letting the reality of what she just agreed to sink in. It hurt her pride more than anything. Deep in her gut, she knew that this was always how it was going to play out. It didn't make the sting of not fully getting away from S.H.I.E.L.D. any less poignant, but it did mitigate her feelings of complete ineptitude ever so slightly. Despite being told numerous times, it had never really occurred to her that S.H.I.E.L.D. might be doing more for her than she was doing for them, although she would never admit it out loud.

After all, how else would she have met Tony, Steve, and Peter if not for S.H.I.E.L.D. and their constant meddling.

She held out her hand, holding eye contact with Fury as he did the same.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.," He paused, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "Again."

* * *

_How to Knit with Cat Hair and Other Fun Summer Activities_

Avery smirked and grabbed the book off the shelf with a flourish. "Peter," She called, flipping open the book to the first page. He looked up from his book on programming and raised his eyebrows, glancing down at her hands. She held it up and shook it, already making up her mind to buy it. She didn't have a cat, but that was an easy problem to fix. New York had about a million stray cats that needed a home. It would be mutually beneficial. "I'm getting it."

"That's gross."

"Well, guess who's not getting a sweater," Avery said, tucking the book under her arm. "Did you find anything?"

"No. I already know all this stuff."

"I figured." Avery walked over to the shelf he had been perusing for over thirty minutes and looked over the titles on the spines herself. Nothing jumped out at her, but then again, she had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for. Peter seemed to be under the impression that, after being unable to agree on a plan of action while walking around Queens, after she had decided to go meet him rather than waiting for him to show up at the tower, like they'd discussed the day before, they would be able to find a book for all their hacking needs in the second hand book shop. Avery wasn't convinced. Incidentally, she also wasn't convinced this was the best plan they had come up with, but she thought Peter might figure that out on his own once the reality of what he wanted to do sunk in. Her reality, as it were, was that she didn't want to do something illegal.

She was still of the opinion that, given the right amount of time and persuasion, Peter might still decide to just let Gwen get the files.

"I did grab this for you," He said, pulling a thick, brightly colored book out from behind his back. Avery glanced down at the swirly letters and rolled her eyes. "What? I thought you would need to do some research."

"That's a picture book."

"It says it's a one stop shop for everything Norse." Peter shook the book, holding to out to her with a smirk. "I already checked. You aren't in here. Looks like you technically don't exist."

"I'll make sure to put that on my tombstone." She grabbed it and flipped open the front cover, leaning back to use the shelf behind her as a perch. She set down her cat hair book and propped her elbow up against the row of dusty books, running her finger down the list of names until she got to the 'fs'. "According to Thor, my mother's full name was Fulla."

Peter leaned on the shelf next to her, peering over her shoulder as she flipped to page about her mother. Or at least, she flipped to the page that was a about a woman who debatably shared the same name as her mother. She had told herself to keep an open mind, however, so she indulged herself by reading what the book said. She was greeted by a half page illustration of a blonde woman wearing a long white dress. A gold headband sat buried in her hair, the branch shapes dipping down to her temples like little fingers gripping at her skin. On her hands was a simple gold band and nothing else.

"She's pretty," Peter commented offhandedly, although she didn't pay attention to him. She looked at the woman closer, studying her features. She certainly didn't look like her mother, didn't have the same mischievousness in her eyes or the any hint of compassion that rolled off her mother in waves, but there was something about her that struck a chord in Avery. "This is her?"

"Yeah," Avery said quietly, eyes skimming the paragraph of text underneath the picture. "Kind of."

Peter scooted closer, bumping into her enough to cause her to look up and give him an annoyed look. She turned back to the book and her reading, finding herself more and more uncomfortable with each line she read until she finally closed it and set it down. "What?"

"Nothing," Avery said, brushing him off once again. She tucked the book underneath the other one, trying to be subtle and failing miserably. Peter raised an eyebrow but seemed to think better of questioning her, something that she was immensely thankful for. She scratched her temple and smoothed her hair down, clearing her throat. "Anyway, if you're not going to buy anything we should go."

"I'll meet you outside."

She glanced down, noticing that he was bouncing slightly. "There's a bathroom at the tower."

"I've been holding it all afternoon." He bounced a little quicker. "Go buy your book about cat hair."

He smiled cheekily and hurried off to the back of the store, slipping in between a disagreeable looking couple in the diet section with a quick apology that fell on deaf ears. The woman looked back at the direction he came from and glared at Avery, like it was somehow her fault, before huffing audibly as she turned her attention to her embittered husband. Avery pursed her lips and reached sideways, fingers touching the two books on the shelf.

She wasn't stupid. The internet existed. She didn't need some children's picture book to tell her about her mom. She needed it even less while Thor was still in town, but she couldn't deny that it gnawed at her in the most annoying way possible. She tucked it underneath the other book and held it to her chest. She glanced back at the bathroom one more time and pivoted around, stepped back with her right foot first. Instead of having a clear path to the register, she ran face first into someone, causing her books to fall to the floor between them.

"I'm so sorry," She said immediately, bending down to pick up the books she dropped without looking at who she bumped into.

"It was my fault," The man said, bending down as well.

Avery looked up and froze.

She always tried to not judge people by how they looked. It didn't do much good in her case, regardless, but she found it incredibly hard not to when she saw the thickly corded scar that ran across his chin and the sheer size of his shoulder muscles bulging out underneath his black t-shirt. She zeroed in on the scar, unable to look anywhere else as her hands paused halfway through picking up her books. It ran in a diagonal underneath his mouth, slightly red and irritated. His stubble only covered it slightly, adding to his overall demeanor. She blinked, realizing that she had been staring far longer than was even remotely polite, and blushed. "I, uh, should have looked before turning."

"Car accident."

"What?"

"When I ten." He gestured to the scar on his face with one finger, tracing along the length of it until she looked away, face beat red.

Full-body cringe didn't even begin to cover how embarrassed and mortified she felt. He smiled and stood up, taking her cat hair book with him. She followed him, inwardly balking at how much taller he was than her. Schooling her face, she smoothed her hair back. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It happens all the time." He smiled at her, although she didn't feel any less like an asshole. "I'm Jack, by the way."

"Avery." She held out her hand for him to shake. He looked down at it and didn't make any move to take her extended hand, instantly make the already uncomfortable encounter even more uncomfortable. She pulled her hand back and made a big show of stuffing it in her pocket, which only ended up making things worse. At that point, she didn't think there was much that could be done to save things, considering she had already put her foot, ankle, and entire leg in her mouth.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She could use her powers and really put her whole set of staggeringly stunted social skills on full display.

Her hand twitched in her pocket

Instead, he looked down at the book in his hand and read the title out loud, amusement in his voice that came across as extremely forced to Avery. "Knitting with cat hair?"

"I thought you were going to buy your books?" Avery felt her muscles relax ever so slightly when Peter came up behind her. "Hey, man."

Somehow, the encounter managed to become more awkward when Peter addressed Jack.

Jack stared at Peter, eyes narrowing ever so slightly before he looked back at Avery. "Here's your book. See you around."

He turned around and walked out of the bookstore, leaving behind Avery and Peter standing with matching expressions of confusion. Peter moved out from behind Avery, mouth slightly agape as he watched the back of Jack's head until it disappeared down the street. Avery held the book Jack handed back to her loosely, wondering if she was imagining that there was something off about him, or if her own tendency to over analyze was getting in the way and making her think that a perfectly normal thing was anything but. Somehow, she didn't think so.

"That was really weird," Peter said.

"I thought so too," She breathed out, relieved she wasn't the only one who thought something was off.

"Haven't you heard of stranger danger?"

"We've known each other all of 48 hours."

"Come on, we still haven't decided what we're going to do." Peter reminded her, clearly not as bothered by Jack.

Avery, stared at the door for a moment longer before she shook her head and stacked the books one on top of the other, fingers digging into the spine. "I don't know about you, but I've made the decision to take up knitting." Peter made a face as she continued, "And if you keep making fun of me, forget a sweater, you won't even get a tea cozy."

Peter rolled his eyes and took the books from her hands, walking towards the register so that she had no choice but to follow after him. The lone girl working at the store eyed the two books on the counter in front of her with raised eyebrows but rang them up without saying a word. "Honestly, I think you only came with me because you wanted to get out of the tower." Peter said, watching Avery as she counted out exact change from her finite funds.

"I thought that was pretty obvious." Avery smiled at the girl behind the counter and took her books. Peter took them and shoved them into his backpack, already on his way out the door. "Peter, wait!"

He waited for her outside the door, arms contorted to zip his backpack shut. "So, that was a total bust."

"I told you that from the very beginning."

"Yeah, I get it, it was a bad idea."

"Not bad, just a little misguided," Avery said, stepping back to allow a group of street cleaners to pass. "But I think we're all a bit guilty of that these days."

She pulled Peter back out of their way and settled back against the building, feeling the heat of the glass and stone seep through her clothes to make her back sweat. It was well past midday and brutally hot, but she didn't really mind. The heat was no more oppressive than her looping thoughts in the tower, the sun no more intrusive than Tony or Thor.

"Standing here doesn't help." Peter gestured to the building across the street, running his hand over his face as a bead of sweat rolled down from his hair. "At this point, we might as well walk inside and ask them for their employment files."

"You already said no to that."

"I said no to _Gwen_ going that."

"We're going in circles, Peter." Avery folded her arms over her chest and tried to ignore the thin layer of sweat now coating her entire body. "I realize this is a bit of a pot and kettle scenario."

"So let's drop it," Peter snapped, surprising Avery at the forcefulness in his voice. She couldn't help but stare at him, even though that would probably make his bad mood, which had come seemingly out of nowhere, worse. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"That freaky, Jedi mind trick bullshit," He said, waving his fingers in the worst imitation of Obi-wan she had ever seen.

She pursed her lips. "I'm not. I am, however, starting to feel more inclined to use it the longer you keep acting so nasty."

He snorted. "Pot, kettle."

"Shut up."

"God, whats your problem? You've been pissy all day."

"Nothing," She said quickly, having successfully not thought about Fury since she walked out of the conference room. She wanted to keep it that way, for the time being. "I'm just tired."

"Why don't we go on a tour and sneak off once we're inside?"

"That's the plot to every heist movie ever."

"That doesn't mean it won't work."

"So you've given up on hacking?" Avery asked.

"I don't know. What does Steve think?" Peter's voice wavered slightly when he mentioned Steve, like he could hardly believe he was able to mention him in a sentence. Avery smiled, although she didn't linger on it.

"I haven't asked him."

"Why not?"

"I just haven't gotten to it."

"What could possibly be more important?"

Thinking about everything made her head throb. In theory, Peter was right. There wasn't anything more important than the missing samples at the moment. The Chitauri were dead, Loki was in prison, and, apparently, New York had avoided being decimated by a nuke. Part of her knew that this was simply the tip of the iceberg, but the other part, the more selfish, wanted to curl up in bed and not think about any of it. "I'll talk to him tonight, see what he thinks."

"I guess that's all we can do for now," Peter said. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Yeah, okay." She pushed herself off the building and stepped out further onto the sidewalk. "You can tell me what's actually going on with this whole Gwen thing while we walk."

"I'd rather talk about you being an alien."

"I've already told you as much as I know." Avery shook her head, deciding that she had already accomplished enough for one day in the personal problems department. If she tried to think about it all, her head would explode. "Come one, I know there's more to it. You said something about her dad?"

"Fine."

"Yay." Peter shot her a glare. "I mean, not yay we get to talk about your problems, but yay we're not talking about mine."

"You're buying." He stalked down the street, looking every bit the moody teenager for a moment.

"Deal."

* * *

Avery walked back into Stark Tower much later than she had anticipated. She felt like she was walking on deflating balloons that were making an obnoxious squeaking noise, making it almost impossible to sneak back in. She wasn't entirely sure why she was even trying to act like she hadn't been out all day, but there she was, tiptoeing like an idiot.

"Avery?" She sighed, looking down at her feet long enough to collect her thoughts, and paused, holding her books to her chest. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, Steve," She greeted, walking over to the table with plodding steps that were much more dramatic than the situation warranted. "Burning the midnight oil?"

"I got hungry," He said, gesturing to the two sandwiches and pile of chips on his plate. She pulled out the seat opposite him and sat down heavily, dropping her books on the table so she could rest her head on them.

"Can I have some chips?" She asked, mouth pressed against the cover. She heard the sound of the plate sliding towards her. She reached out her hand, probing until she found the salty chips, and took a few, suddenly ravenously hungry. "Thanks." She pushed the plate back towards him and propped herself up on her hand, ignoring the crumbs and salt.

"Fury filled us in on the deal you two came to."

"I feel like I sold my soul to the devil for a pair of tube socks and some pocket lint," She said, looking down at her hands. "But, it's okay. I'm tired of fighting. It doesn't solve anything."

"He said they're going to start paying you," He said, sounding slightly angrier than before. "I didn't know you weren't getting paid before."

Avery nodded, tapping her chin. "They better start, otherwise I just spent my last twenty on a book about cat hair and Norse mythology and buying dinner."

"Not in the same book."

"No, but that would make for an interesting read." Avery sat all the way up and handed him the book so he could look at it. "I'm thinking of starting off small. Maybe like a coaster or something."

"You don't have a cat," Steve said, flipping through the pages with an increasing look of amusement on his face. "This is really weird, Avery."

"It's for my free time." Steve seemed skeptical, but amused, and kept looking through the book. "Did free time not exist in the 40s?" Steve smiled, closing the book and handing it back to her.

"No, not really." Avery couldn't tell if she was allowed to smile or not. She felt a laugh bubbling up and she tried to fight it, covering her mouth with her hand so that he wouldn't think she was making fun of him. "It's alright, you can laugh."

She snorted. "I'm sorry," She said, having a harder time controlling her desire to laugh. Steve stared at her, straight-faced and stoic, for a moment until he smiled and chuckled, head dipping slightly. She laughed harder, snorting more violently, as embarrassing as that was, and gave up trying to cover it up after she started to feel like she was going to choke. "I'm sorry. It's really not funny."

"It's really not," Steve agreed, laughing harder. It went on for a solid five minutes, each of them egging the other on until they were red in the face. Avery wiped her eyes, sucking in a few shaky gulps of air, feeling like she was coming down from something more robust than laughing at nothing. "I haven't laughed this hard in a long time."

"And I wasn't even trying. Imagine how hard you'll laugh when I actually tell you a joke." She sat back, biting her lip to keep from looking too much like a maniac. She stretched her arms back behind her head, wincing when her shoulder and ribs pulled, and settled more comfortably in her seat. "I went to see Peter."

"How is he?"

"He wants to know what you think of Oscorp."

"To be honest, I don't know."

"I don't either. He's really fixated on it," She said.

"That sounds familiar." He gave her a significant look.

"I was a whiny brat for a solid five months, I think he's entitled to a few days of obsession," She paused, snaking a few more chips off his plate. "Besides, it's more personal than that."

"It's about Gwen."

She nodded, deciding not to elaborate further. If Peter wanted to tell Steve, he would. "Anyway, right now the best plan we've got is a plot device from National Treasure, so any suggestions would be helpful."

"Is that a movie?"

"Staring the great American thespian and all around weird dude, Nicolas Cage. Now that I think about it, you would love it."

"I'll add it to the list of things I need to catch up on."

"You should write it down," She mused, now stealing chips steadily. She was tempted to swipe a sandwich, but decided to refrain. "Whenever someone mentions something you don't know about, put it on a list so you can learn about it later."

"That's a good idea."

"Ive been know to have them occasionally." She gestured to the cat book once again, smirking. "Who's that?" She pointed at the picture on the table next to his elbow, noticing it for the first time, and turned her head so she could get a better look at it. It was a woman, a pretty one from what she could see, in black and white. She regretted asking as she thought about who that woman could be, about how she had probably existed for him in his life before. "God, I'm sorry. Again. I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, its fine." Steve picked up the picture and glanced at it, a look of pained longing flashing, before he handed it across the table to her. "Her name is Peggy."

Peggy suited her. She was probably top five prettiest people Avery had ever seen. Maybe top three, if she kicked her mother to the curb. "She's beautiful. How'd you meet, if you don't mind me being nosy?"

He seemed to debate for a moment and she felt instantly terrible. "She worked for the SSR."

"Pretty _and_ badass," Avery mused, looking at the picture closer. "Is she still," She paused, wondering how he would take the question, if she should even ask it in the first place. "I'm not trying to be an asshole, I swear."

"She's still alive."

Steve was clearly upset. "You know, I just realized, that I was going to try and find a cat tonight, if you wanted to come with me," She said, trying to change the subject without being too obvious about it. Steve saw right through her, but seemed thankful for the fact the conversation was moving in a different direction. Avery handed the picture back to him, saying nothing about the number written on the back or how it looked like he kept it with him. "Peter thinks I'm angling to get scabies or something, but I think the best place to look is by the subway platforms."

"You want to adopt a subway cat and use its fur to make a coaster?"

"I had weird interests as a kid that I never grew out of. So, are you in? Sir Isaac Mewton awaits." She waggled her eyebrows at him, thankful that his morose mood started dissipating.

She didn't particularly blame him, although she didn't know what to say to make him feel better. And she wanted to. Avery had only been this miserable when she was thirteen and her mom died. She didn't want anyone else to feel like she did, although she had the distinct impression that it was a team characteristic rather than something exclusive to her.

"Sir Isaac Mewton," Steve repeated, tucking the picture back in his pocket.

"I also have Butch Catsidy and the Sundance Cat, the Great Catsby, or Chairman Meow."

"All excellent options."

"I'll have to wait and see. I obviously can't name a girl cat Chairman Meow. Although it would be an interesting gender experiment. Anyway, I haven't slept in like, I actually don't know how long."

"So let's go tomorrow, in the light of day."

"It's only fun if we run the risk of accidentally bringing back a subway rat."

"You're right, I didn't think of that." He wasn't mocking her, but there was a large amount of amusement in his voice that made her smile.

She stood up and grabbed her books, leaning back to put her weight on her heels as she pushed in her chair. "So, I'm going to go drop these off and I'll meet you back here." He nodded, causing her to smile wider to herself as she felt her spirits lift ever so slightly.

"Avery," He said, standing up from the table. He looked like he was going to say something else for a moment but thought better of it at the last minute. "Never mind." He smiled at her again and she felt her chest constrict ever so slightly. She turned around and stepped into the elevator, fighting the slight blush on her cheeks, already knowing that, if he kept smiling at her like that, it was going to be a problem.


	21. Chapter 21

"What the fuck is that?"

"It's a rat," Natasha said, turning her head sideways to stare at the newest addition to the tower's population. The animal did the same, causing her to step back slightly. Her mouth curled into a grimace. "I think."

"I am unfamiliar with the true variety of Midgardian animals, but from what I understand, that is a wombat." Thor bent down at the waist, holding out a large hand to the ball of fur, smiling at the way it glared up at him from underneath a layer of dirt and grime. He waggled his fingers, enticing it to swat at him. That only seemed to endear him further. Thor smiled and stood back up to his full height. Avery followed him with her eyes, careful to look away before she got caught staring. She hadn't the foggiest where he had learned about wombats, or why he would know about them before he knew about cats, but she found herself smiling the idea all the same. She hid it behind her hand, covering her mouth as she made it look like she was wiping a bit of non existent gunk off her face.

"Unfamiliar with animals my ass," Tony scoffed.

"It's a cat," Steve said, interrupting Thor before he could respond to Tony. He closed the notebook he was scribbling in and shifted in his chair, turning himself towards the center of the room where they were all gathered, per Natasha's request. "We found him under a subway platform."

"That's a gremlin." Tony stepped back when the cat turned it's lamp like gaze on him, a look of disgust on his face. "Did somebody feed it after midnight?"

"His name is Mandu and I've adopted him," Avery said, pushing past Tony to pick up the cat, slightly offended. Mandu gripped her shoulder with his claws, pressing closer to her chest. She kissed the top of his head, causing Tony to make an over exaggerated gagging noise that had no effect on her in the slightest. She was obsessed with him after about two seconds, something like Tony Stark's particular brand of insults wasn't going to change that.

"You named your cat, Mandu?" Natasha asked, confusion crossing her face for a moment before she smirked, figuring it out. "Clever."

"Thanks, I thought so." Avery beamed over at her, catching her eye for moment before they both looked away. They hadn't spoken to each other and Avery felt the distinct need to tell Natasha about the recent developments over the last few days. She thought she could keep the secret of her new power from everyone, but the more she thought about, the more she was beginning to think that it would be better if she got it out in the open before they found out and got mad at her for keeping something from them.

She would tell her when they went to lunch. Lump all the uncomfortable things into one cringe-filled outing and be done with it.

"Why is it still looking at me?" Avery turned back to Tony, feeling Mandu squirm in her arms. The cat was glaring up at Tony, tensing when he made a face, almost as if he knew how much Tony instantly disliked him.

Avery, sensing an opportunity, held Mandu up close to Tony, pushing the cat until he was almost touching his face. "He likes you. Come on, give him a kiss."

"Get it away from me."

Mandu hissed as Avery pushed him closer to Tony. She pulled him back and held him close to her chest, giving him another kiss for good measure, in equal parts to calm him down and gross out Tony. Truthfully, he smelled a bit like the sludge at the bottom of the subways mixed with a unique bouquet of rotten eggs and used underwear. She liked him though, so she wasn't going to let a little thing like excessive fur odor bother her.

"May I hold your new companion?" Thor asked, drawing her attention away from Tony and onto him once again. After a brief moment, during which she tried not to look too weird, and promptly failed miserably, she nodded and held Mandu out for Thor, pausing only to detach his claws from the skin on her arm. She stepped back, watching the cat instead of Thor. He seemed instantly at ease in his arms, snuggling into the crook of the man's elbow like he had done it before. "Do all animals here smell like him? He is rather pungent."

"No, we found him sleeping on an old dumpling box."

"And you brought it here? He could be covered in scabies."

Thor wrapped his large hands around Mandu's middle and held him up to his face. "He is rather fetching."

"Fetching," Avery repeated, giving Tony a superior look. "He also has an extra toe on each paw." Upon hearing this, Thor held him with one hand and picked up a paw with the other.

"How delightful."

"Delightful." Tony scowled at her when she echoed Thor again.

"Isn't it a little early for you two to be adopting?" Tony asked, gesturing between Avery and Steve to avoid looking at Thor dote over the cat.

"We tried the old fashioned way, but it's becoming harder and harder these days," Avery said, glancing over at Steve briefly. He was watching Thor, but she did catch him shoot her a look from across the bar where he was seated comfortably.

"Cute," Tony said sarcastically, lip curling as Thor stuck his large finger in between Mandu's toe pads and wiggled it around, smiling brightly when the cat purred in response. "Just keep it out of my lab."

"But I already put his bed in there."

"Did you buy the stuff he needs, like diapers and formula?"

"Its a cat, not a baby. And yes. I went this morning."

Tony looked over at Steve, eyebrows raised. "Is this for your new hobby of arts and crafts using cat hair?"

"You went through my stuff?" Avery asked, glaring at him for the very idea. She realized she sounded like a bratty teenager, so she cleared her throat and bit her lip.

"You left if out on the table, along with a half eaten sandwich, wasteful by the way, and a book about Norse mythology."

"The sandwich was Steve's."

"The Norse mythology was hers," Steve said, standing up.

She took Mandu back as she sat back on the couch, pulling her legs up underneath her to make room for him in her lap. She made eye contact with Steve on the other side of the room after she made herself comfortable. He smiled at her, just enough to notice but not enough for it to be obvious. Realizing that she was in a room with Tony Stark, Avery pointedly looked away, hoping to stave off the inevitable snark. "Where's Bruce?" She asked, noticing the absence of the quiet doctor for the first time. "And Clint?"

Tony flopped back into one of the chairs and rubbed his temples with a tired look on his face. He had still been up when Avery and Steve got back, puttering about in his lab with only the light from his computers illuminating his face. Too engrossed in whatever he was doing, Tony hardly noticed them, or the little addition wrapped up in Steve's jacket. It was, perhaps, a good thing, considering how he reacted in the morning. "Clint's been gone all morning and Bruce is…"

"Right here," Bruce said walking towards them from the open elevator. He stopped behind the couch, casting a cursory look over all of them. He looked tired, but no more so than the rest of them that weren't Steve, and held a cup of tea in his hand. As with every time she had been in the same room as him, Avery instantly tensed up. Tony glanced sidelong at her, raising an eyebrow at her. He, mercifully, and uncharacteristically, said nothing to make it more uncomfortable than it already was. "Nice cat."

"Name's Mandu."

"Clever," Bruce said, sitting in the last empty chair. Avery shot Tony a shit-eating grin, earning a scoff and dramatic eye roll that made her smile even wider. "Are we waiting for Clint?"

"Busy." Natasha sat down in the seat next to Avery and put her feet up on the coffee table. "In case anybody missed the memo, it's been decided that Loki will go back to Asgard once they figure out how to stabilize and channel the energy from the tesseract in a precise enough way to get everybody back in one piece. Obviously, its not going as smoothly as we hoped."

"How long?" Avery asked, idly running her finger along the underside of Mandu's chin, eliciting a purr that sounded like it belonged to a chain smoker. Tony scowled at the ball of fur in her lap again.

"If Stark and Banner would agree to help, it would go a lot faster."

"I already agreed," Bruce said, taking another small sip of tea. "It's Tony who's being difficult for the sake of it."

"It would be safer for all involved if my brother were off Midgard sooner rather than later, lest he decide to try something again."

"That'd be pretty stupid on his part," Avery mused, picking at a chunk of some unknown substance in Mandu's fur.

"I would not underestimate his desperation."

"I'm not."

"He's locked up nice and tight," Natasha said, voice casual despite the serious topic they were discussing. "Ten guard duty that overlaps every six hours." Avery shifted, remembering the last time Loki had been locked up, the assurances she imagined were passed around and, ultimately, meant very little. Loki was only part of what kept her awake, but he was enough of presence to make her feel on edge, even if he was only there in conversation. "Thor and I will be going to the facility today, if anyone else wants to join us."

"Hard pass," Avery said, without needing to even consider it.

"I'll go. Most of my equipment won't be here for a few more days anyway." Bruce drank the last of his tea and stood up, walking the cup over to the sink in the bar. Avery followed him with her eyes, hands smoothing Mandu's fur more rhythmically. It was wrong of her to look at him, or not look at him as was the case most of the time, the way she was. He couldn't control his thing any more than she could. They hadn't spoken, not that it was a great tragedy for either of them, but she did feel like she should say something to him about what happened on the helicarrier. Mentioning his other half didn't seem like it would go over particularly well, but she felt an almost unnatural need to apologize for it. "Tony?"

Tony looked up from his shoes, seemingly caught off guard at being dragged into the conversation and away from his own little world. "Yeah, I'll come later." Tony stood up and looked down at Avery, eyeing the cat in her lap warily. "Avery, Pepps wants to meet you in her office once you're ready for the day."

"I'm starting today?" Avery asked, face feeling suddenly quite pale.

"You're working for Stark?" Natasha was surprised by this information.

"I made a deal with Fury. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say he made a deal with me. Gainful employment looks better than sitting around eating cheese doodles all day, I guess."

"That's…"

"Brilliant," Tony filled in for Natasha.

"Workable." Avery smiled at the dark look Tony shot Natasha. She uncrossed her legs and cradled Mandu under her arm, standing up. Apparently, she had to get ready for the day. Wearing what, she wasn't entirely sure, but a shower would go a long way for looking presentable.

"I'll take him," Steve offered, holding out his arm for Mandu. "You need to get ready."

"Thor, you ready to go?" Natasha asked, standing up as well. She smoothed out her pants and scratched the back of her head, stepping around the coffee table. She walked over to Thor and stood next to him, absolutely dwarfed by the Asgardian.

"Can we take the," Thor started, pausing as he looked for the word he was looking for.

"Subway."

"Yes. I would like to see how Midgardians travel."

"We're going out of the city and it's faster to take the car."

Thor looked truly disappointed by that, but he didn't say anything. He nodded and headed towards the elevator with Natasha, bending down slightly to speak to her about other types of transportation that people on earth used. Bruce followed after them, leaving Avery, Steve, and Tony standing around the living around a little awkwardly. Tony waited until the elevator closed behind the other three before he turned to Avery and Steve.

"So, you two were out late." Tony looked between the two of them, an unreadable look on his face.

Avery snorted, looking down at the top of Mandu's head. The fur was matted with something sticky and brown, making her think that might not ought to be kissing him until she gave him a good bath. She tried not to make a face, conscious of Tony watching her, and shifted Mandu into a position that didn't have his head quite so close to her face. He growled.

"Did you know that there's a group of nocturnal magicians that pick a different subway platform to perform on every night?"

"No, I didn't."

"Avery spotted them. They were still there even though the subways aren't running again yet."

"He turned my shoelace into dental floss," Avery said, holding Mandu out to Steve. She rubbed the cat behind the ear, glancing up at Steve. She felt Tony watching them, causing her to step back with a blush on her face. "Anyway, Pepper's in her office?"

"She's been there all morning."

"I should go." Avery took in a deep breath and shook out her arms, bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously. "Are you going to be there?"

"She doesn't bite, Avery," Tony said, smirking. "Unless you ask nicely."

"Gross. So, is that a yes?"

"Yes, I'll be there. I have to do something first, though."

"I'll put Mandu in my room for the day," Steve said, leaning back slightly.

"Where are you going?"

"I have a meeting with Fury."Avery didn't particularly like the sound of that, but she said nothing. She looked at his face, taking note of how he blinked a bit more rapidly. She noticed he did that when he was nervous or uncomfortable. He had blinked a lot last night before he loosened up around her. She considered it quite an accomplishment that, once they got over the initial awkwardness, they were able to go almost the entire night without things getting awkward once.

It was basically the equivalent of getting a lifetime achievement award at the Oscar's for Avery.

"I'll see you both tonight," Steve said, turning to go towards the smiled at her one more time before he stepped inside, leaving the living space silent after he left.

Avery watched him before she realized she was doing it. When Tony cleared his throat, she jumped. She felt Tony's eyes on the side of her face before her gaze slid back to him, knowing the smug look was plastered all over his face. He smirked at her, waggling his eyebrows rakishly. "So you two adopted a pet together. Things must be getting serious. Should I call the wedding planner?"

"Shut up."

Avery stalked over to the elevator, knowing that it was her own fault for not being more careful around Tony.

"Don't forget to wear something nice!" He called, winking at her as the doors to the elevator closed.

* * *

Pepper Potts watched the young woman carefully, eyes following her as she walked around the large office, hands laced together behind her back, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Her two piece suit fit poorly and bagged in places it was supposed to be fitted and pulled in places it was supposed to give a little. Pepper had the sneaking suspicion that she bought it a few hours ago in a fit of panic. She didn't wear it like a woman who was comfortable business attire, or heels for that matter, but Pepper was trying very hard not to judge her. When Avery looked back at her, she turned her attention back to her file, trying to make it look like she hadn't been openly staring at her.

Pepper perused the information for what felt like the hundredth time before she cleared her throat and looked up again, smiling softly at Avery. "You're employment record is pretty extensive." Avery paused in front of the large painting above Pepper's couch, eyes following the bold lines and splashes of color. Her back was rigid when she turned around, a slight blush standing out against her pale skin. "You went to college?"

"Two years." Her voice was unsure. Pepper smiled again.

"Major?"

"History."

"Languages?"

"Spanish and a little bit of French."

Pepper looked down at the file again, glossing over the blacked out lines curtesy of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The deal Tony struck didn't sit particularly well with her. Of course, nothing about the last few days sat well with her, so she decided that, for the time being, she would just trust that Tony knew what he was doing when it came to hiring Avery and be done with it. That didn't make the task of placing her somewhere in Stark Industries any easier, however, so she read through the file again, hoping to find something that would stick out to her on yet another pass through.

"Have you wo…"

The door to her office flung open, cutting her off and startling Avery. Tony slipped inside and closed the door behind him, locking it with a click. Pepper rolled her eyes and set the file down, staring at Tony as he crossed the large room and dropped into one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Sorry I'm late Pepps, but it is your fault for meeting so early."

"It's noon."

"I repeat, your fault," Tony said, smiling at her when she rolled her eyes again. He had at least managed to shower and put on a clean suit, so she couldn't find it in herself to be too annoyed with him. She had only just gotten back the night before and she could already tell the invasion, and everything that went with him, still weighed heavily on his mind. "So, you got the file from some S.H.I.E.L.D. crony?"

"Are you going to explain?" Pepper sighed, looking over her shoulder at Avery. She still stood in front of the painting, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"JARVIS?"

" _Yes sir?"_

"Go dark."

" _Of course."_

Pepper stood up, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "Tony."

"So, this is all technically classified," Tony started, fiddling with her paper weight with a casualness that irked Pepper. He gestured dramatically towards Avery's back and Pepper sighed, realizing she would just need to let him go through his own way of telling her, however long that might take. Avery still didn't turn around, but she could see her back tense up and her clench into fists. "Pepper, Avery. Avery, Pepper."

"We know. You were late." Pepper couldn't help but smile slightly at look on his face.

"Is this a Mondrian?" Avery asked, speaking for the first time since Tony entered the office.

"Yes, it belonged to Tony's mother."

Truthfully, Pepper had never been very fond of Mondrian, but she had never really been able to bring herself to donate it to the Met, despite the letter she received from them every year inquiring about it. "My mom took me to see some of his work in Dallas when I was seven."

"Road trip?" Tony asked, swiveling around in his seat to look at the blonde standing on the other side of the room.

"Sort of."

"Anyway," Tony said, still watching Avery as she walked over to sit in the seat next to him, even more uncomfortable looking in motion than she was standing still. "I offered Avery a job."

"I know."

"Where do you we need people?"

Pepper pursed her lips, giving it a large amount of thought. They needed people everywhere, in every department. The company was in the process of transferring its offices to New York, so the manpower was needed for all the complications that came from such a large scale move. She didn't even want to begin to think about the logistical nightmare of doing it in the aftermath of the invasion. Bodies were still on the ground, buildings still smoking, people still missing.

"What are your skills?" Pepper asked Avery after a moment, inspiring the younger woman to face her once again.

"I can bus a table faster than anybody."

Tony snorted.

"Show her?" Tony asked, turning to Avery with an unreadable look on his face. Pepper followed him with her eyes, glancing between them. Avery immediately shook her head. She sat on her hands and bit her lip, holding her ground against whatever Tony was asking her to do. "Oh, come on, kid."

It certainly wasn't the first time she had witnessed him latch onto someone, particularly someone of the opposite sex. Most normal woman would be concerned. For Pepper, that feeling couldn't be further from her mind. Instead, she was just curious. Curious to see where it would go and curious to see what sort of impact Avery would have if she stuck around.

Avery glared at him, demeanor suddenly quite frosty and closed off. She folded her arms over her chest and turned in her seat, mouth set in a hard line. "You said it would be HR."

"I'm not the CEO." Technically, not, but Pepper couldn't help but feel like Tony was splitting hairs just to be contrary. Avery seemed to think so as well and scoffed audibly, fingers tapping on her arm in annoyance. When she didn't show any signs of listening to Tony's request, he stood up and walked over to Pepper's desk. He grabbed the file, sneaking a quick kiss to her temple, and flipped it open. "S.H.I.E.L.D. redacted all the fun stuff."

"Like why you're trying to hire a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent onto your staff," Pepper said, leaning back in her chair. "The last time it happened, you didn't even know about it for months. And you've complained about it ever since."

"Avery's S.H.I.E.L.D.-light."

"That still doesn't explain it."

Avery shifted in her seat, clearing her throat to draw their attention back over to her. "I asked Tony to hire me."

"Why?"

Avery glanced at Tony, apparently not anticipating Pepper asking her that. She bit her lip, applying enough pressure to leave behind teeth marks. Sensing that she might be making the girl nervous, Pepper tried to soften her expression to appear more welcoming.

"Because she's probably an Asgardian with the power to make people reveal their deepest, darkest secrets with a single look and make giant golden walls with her mind," Tony said nonchalantly, flipping idly through Avery's folder like he had just said the most normal thing in the world. Pepper gaped at him for a moment before she managed to school her expression enough for him to continue. "And if we don't give her a job she'll end up on a beach somewhere with a piece of paper stapled to her head that says 'tamám shud'."

"Tony," Pepper admonished, giving him a stern look.

"It's probably true." Avery didn't sound offended, which was a good sign.

Pepper looked at the other woman again, sizing her up unintentionally now that she knew why Tony was so interested in her. A year ago, if someone had told her that people would be able to do things like what Tony claimed she could with her mind, she would have brushed it off as pure nonsense. But then New Mexico happened and the entire world changed. Tony changed and so Pepper had to as well. They weren't alone anymore. If that was the end of it she supposed they wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Despite knowing this, she hadn't given it much thought. She had a company to run. She had Tony to deal with. She had too much on her plate to think about aliens, or blonde Norsemen from space, or even newly thawed American heroes.

She realized the flaw in that way of thinking when she stepped off the elevator after her flight landed. She wasn't necessarily surprised that Tony would give them a place to stay, but she was a little shocked to walk inside the penthouse late at night, imagining a warm bath and some quality time with Tony, only to find it full of the world's newest team of superheroes. With the exception of Avery, of course. She had been conspicuously absent from their initial meeting. Truthfully, Pepper didn't even know she existed until Tony mentioned something about giving her a job as they were getting in bed.

Seemingly overnight, and with the help of an alien invasion, Tony had found himself a new team and a whole new set of problems that would inevitably be hers.

"So, how would you like to move forward?"

"You said HR," Avery reminded Tony again. "Not that I'm being demanding."

"What's you clearance level?" Pepper asked, a spark of an idea niggling its way forward the more she thought about it.

"I'm not entirely sure."

"But you have done field work?"

"How do…" Avery trailed off, seemingly regretting her question before she finished asking it.

"I have to find a way to keep up," Pepper explained. "Have you ever done any work in public service?"

"No."

"Government?"

"No."

"Non-profit?"

"No. I can, however, balance a trey with ten plates on it." Avery's words was joking, but her tone revealed a level of shame about her past employment that she couldn't shake. "So I have that going for me."

"How many words a minute can you type?"

"Definitely more than ten, but probably less than a thousand."

Pepper stared at Avery for a moment before she turned to Tony, tapping his leg to grab his attention. "Tony, is there something you need to tell me?" Tony looked up from Avery's file, eyebrows knitted together in confusion, apparently having tuned out what they were saying in favor of rereading something she was sure he had gone over no less than a hundred times.

"What?"

"Did you have an affair with an Asgardian and father a child that you didn't tell me about?"

"You know you're the only goddess in my life, Pepps." Tony winked at her and leaned down, kissing her quickly. "Besides, I can't be responsible for every disaster."

"Hey!"

"I'm kidding," Tony said, holding his free hand up in mock surrender. "Partially."

"I'm no more of a disaster than the others."

"That's true. Rogers has more issues than Playboy," Tony paused, shooting Pepper a look. "Not that I would know. Thor has family problems that would make the Bluths weep. Which I guess are your problems now."

"Unconfirmed."

"Keep telling yourself that, kid." Tony stood up from Pepper's desk and walked back over to the other chair, holding out his hand to count on his finger. "Anyway, Natasha and Clint are spies so they probably don't even know what it's like to be normal. Fury is the head of a sneaky government organization so no further explanation needed."

"You forgot yourself."

"I've accepted my own status of living, breathing, human disaster, thank you very much." Avery rolled her eyes at him and looked back at Pepper.

"I think I have a spot for you," Pepper said, making up her mind for where Avery could work within the company after watching them banter back and forth. "What are your commitments to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Mandatory interrogations once a month for four days."

"In D.C.?"

"Yep."

"I recently acquired build permits for an office in D.C., so that's perfect."

"Pepper, you're a genius," Tony said, understanding what she was getting at before she could say it out loud. She smiled slightly, inclining her head. "Those offices were going to be based in D.C.?"

"Right now, no. This new branch hasn't gotten off the ground yet, so I planned to keep it close until it was more self-sustaining," Pepper said, glancing over at Avery. She watched them go back and forth confusion written all over her face. After thinking it over for a moment longer, Pepper decided that it was the best course of action, the only course of action, that would suit the younger woman. "There is a subsidiary of Stark Industries called the Stark Relief Foundation that provides aid to countries suffering from war, poverty, famine or widespread disease. Recently, after Tony's," Pepper paused, shooting Tony a look. He simply shrugged his shoulders. "Scuffle at the Expo, the board decided there needed to be some money set aside for incidents involving similar conflicts."

"And this involves me?"

"We've been having trouble finding people with the right kind of security clearance to work this kind of job. It was hard enough when it was just Iron Man that we had to deal with, but now it would be basically impossible."

"What would I do?" Avery asked, leaning forward slightly, shoulders relaxing slightly.

"You'd need training, obviously, and shadowing experience dealing with other relief operations. After that, we can move forward with giving you a bit more responsibility." Pepper watched the emotions on Avery's face as she worked through the offer, traveling from confusion to caution before she settled on acceptance. She relaxed even further, sinking back into her chair until she almost looked comfortable. Almost. She still seemed a bit fidgety to Pepper, but she thought that might be a personality trait more than anything else. "What do you think?"

"It helps people?"

"That's the goal."

"Specifically, people who are in the wrong place, wrong time?"

"We try and help as many people as we can, for as long as we can. I think your particular connection will help."

"I'll do it," Avery said after a moment.

"I'm digging the enthusiasm, kid." Tony smiled at the guilty look he elicited. Avery blushed and shook her head, immediately starting the process of backtracking.

"I'm sorry, I'm rea…"

"Avery, don't worry about it. I'll have Bambi come find you later today to work out the details. If you have any questions you can ask her."

Avery nodded, biting her lip. She glanced between the two of them, taking a few deep breaths before she stood up, smiling more than she had been when she walked in. "Thank you." She held each of their gazes for a moment before she turned towards the door, apparently waiting for a cue that she could leave. Pepper nodded and she immediately hurried towards the door, slipping out before either of them could call her back.

"She's a bit on the nervous side," Tony said, as soon as the door snapped shut.

"I noticed." Pepper looked up at him, studying his face carefully. "She actually has powers?"

"Yeah, and they keep getting stronger." Tony rubbed his hand over his beard. "She needs stability."

"Why do you care?" Pepper asked, curiosity getting the best of her. "You aren't normally so altruistic."

"Pepps, if somebody doesn't help, actually help her just to help, she's going to slip through the cracks."

"Like you did?"

Tony bent down and kissed her on the cheek, smiling slightly. "Something like that."

"You're a good man, Tony Stark."

"Don't let anybody hear you say it."

"It'll be our little secret." She touched his side

"We still on for dinner tonight?"

"Bambi made reservations." Pepper turned towards her computer, glancing at Tony as he walked towards the door. "Do I need to have the contractors stay off this floor until everyone leaves?"

"That would probably be best," Tony said, body halfway out the door. "Also, up the food order."

"Already done."

"You're the best, Pepps." Tony winked at her.

"Let everybody hear you say it. In fact, shout it as loud as you can."

"Don't you have work to do?"

"I'll see you tonight," Pepper said, laughing at the look on his face as he closed the door behind him.

* * *


	22. Chapter 22

"Does the mouthpiece comfort them?" Loki asked, eyeing the metal in his brother's hands. Thor's fingers wrapped around it, blunt nails digging into the simple device as he followed Loki's gaze over to the group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents clutching their guns nervously outside the van doors. One peered inside and quickly looked away when he got caught by Loki's gaze.

He rolled his eyes.

Pitiful, the lot of them, nothing but small-mind, simple, barbaric beings without even the hint of purpose. How his brother could love them above all else was beyond him.

"I believe Midgardians call it a muzzle," Thor intoned, voice tired and full of wariness. Loki swiveled around in his seat, eyebrows knitting together.

"A muzzle? How crude."

"Perhaps you'd like to wear it now?"

Loki smirked, finding the threat simultaneously amusing and a bit pathetic with how hollow it was. "Something bothering you, brother?"

Thor looked up at him, turning his back to the van door. "Have you even given a thought to how father will punish you?"

"Your father."

"The Alfather, then, if that makes you feel better about what you've done."

Loki scoffed and leaned back in his seat, metal cuffs clanking obnoxiously. They were cumbersome, although he did not expect any sort of elegance from Midgard, and rubbed his skin painfully. The healers, doctors here, were hardly thorough with their care of him in the detention facility, but that didn't matter to him. He had already begun to heal, his powers inching their way back into his body bit by bit.

"Perhaps they think I will put a spell on them."

"You have a clever tongue, brother, but you and I both know you have never been the enchanter you pretend to be."

Loki scowled at him, lip curling. "Your guard duties do not include conversation."

"Shall I leave?" Thor asked, holding the muzzle out to Loki with a slightly taunting look.

"Your new friends might prefer it." Loki gestured with his chin, eyeing the group of Midgardians gathering around the bridge with even more disdain than he already felt. Stark was the most prominent figure, seemingly taking up more space than the others with his personality alone. He said something to Dr. Banner, a very self-important look on his face. Loki despised him. "Or are they teammates now?"

"Both."

"Odin will be proud," Loki snarked, knowing that the tone grated on Thor's nerves unlike any other. Thor's shoulders tensed as he shifted in his seat, hand floating over Mjolnir as if by reflex. Loki rolled his eyes again, finding the posturing a bit unnecessary. He knew when he had been beaten. The notion wasn't easier to swallow now that he had been sitting with it for a week and a half than it had been right in the moment, but there wasn't much that could be done about it while he was shackled at the feet and hands. His time would come again, and then he wouldn't entrust his victory to anyone else. It would be his, and is alone.

They fell into silence as they waited. Thor continued watching his newfound companions, gaze following them each in turn. He watched Avery the longest, completely forgetting about the others for the time being. Loki leaned forward and watched her as well.

She had changed quite a bit in the days since the helicarrier, although not for the better, in Loki's opinion. She had her long hair pulled back into a messy braid that hung down her back and swung whenever she looked right or left. She bounced up and down on her feet, hands wringing nervously together. Loki wasn't sure if it was possible for to express anything but nervousness, but he supposed the only interactions he'd had with her might be coloring his view just a bit.

"She looks so much like her," Thor said after another moment of silence.

"A bit," Loki agreed, albeit reluctantly.

She really did look like Fulla, if not a little smaller and mousier in nature. Where their aunt had been fierce, Avery was meek, their aunt vibrant and confident, Avery dull and shy. "She has not spoken to me since the day we defeated you."

Loki noticed the emphasis Thor put on the last part, almost as if he felt the need to remind him over and over again of his most recent failure. "What reason have you given her to? Your open-mouthed staring? Or perhaps you expect her to start calling you cousin and invite you to family dinner?"

"She doesn't have one."

"Pardon?"

"A family. She doesn't have one."

"Pathetic."

"So is trying to conquer an entire planet because you haven't adjusted well to being told you're adopted."

"It took you all week to think of that one, did it?" Loki tried not to look petulant, but yet another reminder of his current situation made it hard. "It is odd, however." Thor turned back to him, face showing his willingness to listen to Loki, even if his attitude didn't. "You would think there would be a certain eagerness about her at the prospect of not being alone in the universe."

"She is frightened."

"Of what? You?"

"You," Thor said plainly. "You didn't exactly give her the best impression."

"I'm adopted, remember?"

They stared at each other, the tension that passed between them worse than before. Loki was used to such exchanges with his brother, even if they only seemed to have increased as of late. He did not consider it to be entirely his fault. His family, a term he loosely applied for lack of a reasonable alternative, knew who he was and what he could do from the moment they kidnapped him. They knew that he had no reason to expect that he wouldn't be king. They knew, and yet had the gall to be surprised when he acted on such assumptions of his destiny and whatnot.

"How will you explain her to the Alfather?"

"I do not know."

"Or mother," Loki said, knowing that it would be quite a bit harder for Thor to broach the subject with Frigga. Fulla was her only sister and, as such, favored her and doted upon her almost as much as she did her own children. The knowledge that she had a child, one that looked so much like her, would surely cause their mother a great deal of pain once she found out. Even more so if there was deceit involved.

"Why was Fulla here in the first place?"

Loki had given that very question quite a bit of thought himself. Normally he wouldn't have bothered with it, considering, but the free time that had been awarded to him gave him ample opportunity to consider all the possibilities. "The scenery."

"This is not a joke," Thor snapped.

"I never joke, Thor, surely you would know that by now."

Seeing the look on his face, Loki sensed an opportunity. He had an idea why Fulla might have found herself on Midgard, but it was no more than a theory at the moment. There had been instances, so few that they more rumors than anything except in the case of Thor, of the realm being used as a punishment for those who broke the Alfather's rule. He could only think of one crime bad enough to warrant such a treatment, but he struggled to imagine Fulla doing such a thing, even on her worst day. Still, there was the fact that beyond the lure of a population to rule over, Loki could see nothing about the realm that would make someone willingly move there, much less procreate with one of them.

"She was not banished, if that's what you're thinking." Loki merely raised his eyebrows noncommittally. "Fulla would not have committed the crimes that call for banishment," Thor said, hands clenching up stubbornly.

"And why not?" Loki asked, taking the opportunity presented to him to bother Thor just a bit more before they went back to Asgard and, more importantly to Loki, his fate was determined. "You did."

"I was foolish."

"Maybe she was. Perhaps Fulla fell in love with a mortal and ran away."

"That is not a crime."

"Clearly," Loki said sourly, rolling his eyes at the offended look on Thor's face. "I simply mean, that Fulla knew a great deal more than she ever told us. Maybe one of those secrets caught up with her."

"You know something," Thor accused, leaning towards Loki in a clear attempt to use his bulk to intimidate him. Loki stayed firmly rooted in his spot, finding the display a bit dull. Thor had been throwing his weight around for as long as Loki could remember and, as far as Loki went, it had very little effect in getting him what he wanted.

"I am merely postulating."

"Do you think Avery knows?"

"I would not think so, no." Loki glanced around Thor and looked at the woman in question, eye scanning her up and down. "She doesn't seem to know much of anything about what's happening."

"She doesn't wish to speak with me." Thor sounded truly upset by the idea. Perhaps Loki's recent supposed treachery was to blame for his brother's sentimentality towards Avery. A way of replacing the wayward relation with one a bit more palatable, so to speak. Except, Avery didn't seem to want anything to do with Thor. It was a small fact that brought no small amount joy to Loki the more he thought about it.

"Then that makes two of us."

Thor ignored him. "Perhaps she is confused."

"Or perhaps she has no interest in what you have to offer. Although, I cannot comprehend choosing here of all places, she seems like the sentimental sort. Uncomfortable with change." Thor made a noise at the back of his throat. "A bit like you, in that sense."

"And you, if you would only open your eyes and see it."

"You will force her hand if you come on too strong."

"Why do you care?"

Loki considered the question for a moment, unsure of the answer himself. It might have to do with the fact that he was staring down what was sure to be a lengthy prison sentence and he had nothing better to do. If the Alfather didn't kill him for his crimes, of course. He thought, as much as he hated to admit, that he would rather watch it unfold than have Thor scare her into hiding. Still, he could see even as he thought about it that Thor was looking too much into his silence. There was a spark of hope in his eyes that perhaps Loki wasn't too far gone.

His face hardened. "I do not."

"We have spoken long enough." Thor stood up, having to stoop to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, and turned to him. He held out the muzzle and gesture for Loki to turn his jaw upwards.

"Always a pleasure, brother."

The disappointment radiated off Thor, permeating the small space until even he almost felt it. Loki looked away as the mouthpiece was strapped around the back of his neck, focusing instead on the world outside the van. The Soldier was looking at them now, watching as his mouth was covered with a slight glare on his face. Avery peered around him, eyes zeroed in on him. She instantly blushed at being caught staring and stood up straight, hiding herself behind the bulk of the man in front of her.

Loki smirked.

This would be fun, even if from afar.

* * *

Steve's shoulders were a gift to humanity for a variety of reasons. For one thing, they contributed to his overall easy-on-the-eyes looks almost as much as his smile and perfectly styled blond hair. Not that Avery had noticed. More importantly to her, at the moment, was the fact that, in a pinch, his shoulders served as the perfect shield from the outside world if she positioned herself at just the right angle behind him.

"You know you're going to have to try and understand AC/DC eventually," Avery said, ducking down slightly when Steve shifted in his spot. He glanced over his shoulder at her, eyebrow raised.

"The band? He wears their shirts?"

"No, alternating current and direct current." Avery blanched slightly when Steve turned around, eliminating her ability to use him as a hiding place.

"What are you doing?"

He should well recognize her attempts at hiding from Thor by this point. She had done it in the tower, although she failed, and had been doing it ever since. Granted, the Asgardian never seemed to be around at the same time as her, for which she was immeasurably grateful for, so she hadn't had to do it much. Beyond the morning after they brought Mandu home, Avery hadn't seen him for longer than a few passing moments in the last week.

At the moment, the man in question was currently speaking to Natasha and Clint in hushed tones on the other side of the bridge. He had spent a great deal of time with Loki inside the transport van, only stepping out when he looked sufficiently annoyed with the other man. It was amazing he had lasted so long, but she supposed he was more tolerant of Loki considering their shared childhoods. Thor made a point to go to Clint and Natasha first, relieving Avery for the time being. Avery leaned out from behind Steve, eyes trailing up and down Thor's tall figure until she was certain he wasn't going to turn towards her. She felt the weight of Steve's gaze on her after a moment. She straightened up. "Why hasn't Thor been around the tower?"

"Are you hiding from him again?" Steve voice was tinged with amusement, although she could see the concern in his eyes and furrowed brow. "You should just go and talk to him."

She should. She absolutely should go talk to the man that could possibly, probably, be one of her only living relatives. Acute as her time left with him may be, Avery just wasn't too keen to talk about it. She had thought about it a lot, more than anything else in fact, but it still didn't change the fact that she wasn't quite ready for that reality. During the wee hours of the morning, when her dramatics were at their peak, she had thought about what it would mean for her as a person if it all turned out to be true. Implicit, to her, in the whole deal was a complete 180 in her world views. She liked peanuts and relish on her hotdogs, but they might not even have pork on Asgard. She liked to pick her own pumpkin every year at Halloween and carve it, but Asgardians might not celebrate the holiday at all. She watched the Super Bowl just for the commercials, but judging by how captivated by Tony's living room tv Thor was, Asgard didn't have either. They were trivial things, she realized, and probably didn't mean much of anything in the long run, but she had clung to her routine for the last ten years. And then Thor had just had to swoop in and threaten to change everything she thought she knew about herself and the life she had had.

"I know."

"I read the book you bought, by the way," Steve said, keeping his focus firmly on her while they waited.

"All of it?"

"I couldn't really sleep last night."

There seemed to be a lot of that going around the closer and closer they got to sending Thor and Loki home. For some of them, Natasha namely, it was easier to get back into the swing of things. She spent her days at the facility where they were holding Loki and her nights getting a full eight hours. It irked almost everyone else who resided in the tower temporarily, but none more so than Tony. Avery had caught him complaining to Bruce over coffee one afternoon, morning to Tony. As much as he complained about their presence, however, Avery got the distinct impression that Tony was going to be upset once they were all gone. For the others, whose routine was more flexible, the limbo they found themselves in was not a welcome one.

Even though no one expressed it into words, they all craved the relative level of normalcy that could only come once Loki was out of their hair and off their minds.

For the next ten or so minutes, however, they had no choice.

"It all seems a little ridiculous," Avery commented, peering around Steve once again.

"A bit," He agreed, although with very little commitment. "I was going to tell you a couple of days ago, but Fury offered me a job."

"I figured he would. What does he want you to do?" Avery asked, standing up straight.

"I'll be in D.C. next week to figure that out."

Avery blinked quickly, eyes sliding up to focus on his face instead of her own feet. "Are you moving?"

"I thought about it," Steve admitted, saying the answer she didn't realize she hadn't wanted to hear. She had grown quite accustomed to seeing him around the tower. He was calming, unlike Tony, who despite his ability to always make her laugh, set her on edge constantly. Steve was quiet and observant, never forcing her to talk when she didn't want to or turn off the news when she got caught in a loop of watching it for hours.

It hadn't escaped her notice that he was the only who she hadn't accidentally used her powers on either, but that was just an added bonus.

Avery schooled her face in an attempt to make it look like she wasn't upset by the idea, but failed miserably.

"I think I'll stick around here for a little longer, though," Steve said, stuffing his hands into his front pockets. "There's a lot Brooklyn I want to see again." He paused just long enough to look at her with an unreadable look on his face that thoroughly confused her before carrying on, the brief moment completely forgotten. "Besides, Peter still needs help with those stolen samples."

"He should be doing his homework," Avery said. "He's supposed to be graduating in a few weeks."

"Me and Bucky never did our homework," Steve mused, smiling slightly as he seemed to remember something particularly amusing. "Well, Bucky did if it was science. That was always his favorite subject."

"Bucky?"

Avery should have learned her lesson about asking Steve things from before he woke up after the Peggy incident from the night they found Mandu, but from the look on his face she hadn't. The pain flashed briefly, burning hot and violent. He controlled it before she could even apologize, his expression recovering so much that someone on the outside might not think anything of it at all. "He was my best friend."

Once again, and far less eloquently than the first time, if that was even possible, Avery tried to move the conversation away from such painful topics. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I keep doing this."

"If it bothered me, I wouldn't have told you in the first place." Thinking back on her earlier train of thought, she supposed it was possible that, even without realizing it, she was compelling him to tell her even if he didn't want to. That made her squirm with discomfort, although she tried to keep Steve from finding out. Just to be safe, Avery did a mental check of her own body, pulling everything back on the off chance that her control had slipped while she wasn't paying attention. Steve's eyebrows furrowed together again, almost as if he knew exactly what she was doing, and he sighed. "I'll tell you about him some other time."

"Avery, Captain," Tony greeted, sidling up between them before Avery could respond to Steve. Truthfully, she was thankful for a reprieve, whatever form it might come in. He looked at them both with a smirk on his face, clearly thinking he had interrupted something important. "Secrets don't make friends."

"Funny," Avery said dryly, rolling her eyes. "How long have you been saving that one?"

"Since we met." Tony smiled, mockingly coy and smug.

"What do you think will happen to Loki?" Avery asked, glancing back over at the prisoner transport van. Loki was staring out of it, eyes scanning them all. Despite the fact that his mouth was covered, she was certain he was smirking. When he looked at her, she jumped and turned sideways, deciding that, after being caught twice, she wasn't going to do it again.

"Why, feeling sentimental? Forgiven him for the ribs?"

"And the nose," Steve reminded her, gesturing to her now completely healed face. Her ribs still hurt, but that was neither here nor there.

"Thor thinks he could be put to death," Tony said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Death? That's a bit extreme."

"The death toll is still climbing. If you ask me, it's not punishment enough." The muscles in Tony's arms clenched up. She was surprised at the intensity of his words, but she didn't question him. "Anyway, are you two ready to get this show on the road?"

Avery and Steve looked at each other, a silent conversation passing between them for a moment before they both nodded.

They had waited long enough.

The three of them walked over to the other side of the bridge, Avery a few paces behind them of her own accord. Steve glanced back at her, but kept walking when she gestured that she was more comfortable with the added space. Steve and Tony made the perfect buffer between her and the two Asgardians, the _other_ two Asgardians she corrected herself, just in case. Natasha, Clint, and Thor stopped talking when they approached. Bruce, who had been sitting on the stone railing of the bridge, stood up and walked over to them as well, hands casually shoved into his pockets.

Avery did the same.

"Everyone ready?" Natasha asked, looking at each of them for some kind of visual cue. When she seemed satisfied, she gestured to the agents guarding Loki. Thor stepped into the middle, leaving enough room for both him and Loki.

Avery sidled backwards, pressing herself against Tony's car and waited. She didn't want to hype it up too much, but she couldn't help but feel like the moment they were gone she would finally be able to breathe properly, finally be able to relax her tense shoulders and straighten her back.

As they waited, an agent hurried forward and placed the tesseract, now with a fancy new case, into Thor's outstretched hand. He tested the weight, wrapping his fingers around one of the handles and holding up to see the blue cube safely balanced inside. The other agents returned with Loki in tow, shoving him to stand in front of Thor, before they backed off immediately. She noticed they're hands stayed trained over their guns, just in case. Loki noticed as well and rolled his eyes. Thor lifted the tesseract up and gestured for Loki to grab the other side.

Instead of turning it, or pressing some button, or doing whatever was needed to activate the energy, Thor started down at it, a contemplative look on his face. The blue of the cube reflected on his face, giving him a slightly melancholy look. He stared at it for a moment longer before he looked up and turned to her, eyes finding her amongst the rest of his team.

"If you need anything, call for Heimdall. Call for Heimdall and he will answer."

Before she could say anything, they turned the tesseract and were gone.

* * *

"Do you think he meant that to be so passive-aggressive?" Avery asked, wringing her hands together nervously as she walked.

"I think he felt like he had to say something."

"Now, I feel like an asshole," Avery said, pausing and turning to look at Steve. He raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders. "Very helpful."

"I don't know, Avery. You made it pretty clear that you didn't want anything to do with him the entire time he was here."

She scowled at him. "But he didn't have to do that." Steve stayed silent, disagreement clear from everything from his expression to his posture. "Should I have said something?"

"I already told you that you should," Steve said. "How would you feel if your roles were reversed?"

"Probably the same."

Steve rolled his eyes, clearly not believing her in the slightest. She sighed in frustration and scuffed her feet along the ground. She could feel herself becoming unnaturally irritated at the entire situation for some reason. It came out of nowhere, like a hot knife in her stomach. She was angry, annoyed, upset, sad, and unsure all at once. It was maddening and alarming in how quickly it came upon her.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, grabbing her arm to turn her to face him. "You're sweaty."

"Thanks, Steve."

"No, you're burning up, Avery."

"I'm fine." She pulled her arm back. "I'm just stressed."

"Avery!"

Avery ducked at the suddenness of the interruption, bending at the waist out of reflex and let out a small scream. She covered her eyes with her hands and tried to calm her breathing. She felt like she was having a heart attack, that it was going to beat out of her chest if she wasn't careful.

"Avery, stop!"

"What?" She looked up, surprised by the alarm on Steve's face. He gestured over to a trashcan wildly, causing her to freeze. It was expanding, enlarging from the inside out like a bubble about to burst. It groaned, the metal seams straining from the internal pressure before it exploded, sending trash and metal flying all directions. Steve turned around and covered her face with his arm, allowing her only a glimpse of gold before it was blocked with his body.

They stood in silence, both breathing heavily. After a moment, Steve stepped back and dropped his arm, eyeing her warily.

"So, that's still happening?"

Peter hopped down from his perch, a sheepish look on his face.

"You startled me?" Avery asked, rounding on him. He took a step back, shaking his head. She should have recognized his voice when he said her name, but for some reason her fight of flight instincts kicked in.

"I just called your name. It's not like I shot you."

"You might as well have."

"Okay, something is clearly bothering you. So, I'm going to go. I just thought I'd say hi since I saw you two."

"Peter, wait," Steve said, stopping the younger man before he could leave. "It's not her fault." For some reason that irked her. He seemed to realize how it sounded and quickly tried to backtrack. "Avery, I didn't…"

She shook her head, holding up her hand. She glanced over at the exploded trashcan and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. "I'll see you back at the tower," She said after a moment, deciding that she needed a bit of time to herself. "I'm sorry for snapping at you, both of you."

She walked away before either of them could call her back, head down and hands clenched into fists.

The one good thing, she supposed, was that no one saw them. S.H.I.E.L.D. had blocked off that part of the park reasonably well, except for Peter, of course, making things blissfully quiet. She was able to walk for about ten minutes before she reached the perimeter of the quarantined off section of the park. She paused, looking out at the mass amounts of people on the streets of New York, deciding whether or not she wanted to brave it or not.

Things are taken a turn for the worst for her in ways she hadn't anticipated, and she wasn't so sure that it would be safe for her, safe for others, more importantly, to try and exist amongst such high densities of humanity.

She could explode a human next.

Avery let out a strangled gargle and shook her head, leaning back against the nearest fence. A few people glanced at her as they passed by, smiling at her and completely oblivious to her internal struggle. She felt like she was constipated, holding everything in so she wouldn't hurt anyone. After another few moments, Avery walked forward, making up her mind to keep close to the park, just in case. She shouldn't have been so brash and walked away from Steve and Peter.

She wasn't sure why she was acting like she was. She was an adult and yet she felt like her patience rivaled that of a young teenager. She was moody and petulant and dramatic and everything she , there was no reason, but she could feel it deep in her bones. Her body felt like it was constantly in flux, that even when she was sitting still, there was something simmering deep beneath the surface.

And perhaps the only person who could help her was now dimensions away.

She blew that chance because she was a coward and uncomfortable with change.

As if her day couldn't get any worse, when she turned to walk a little further away from the park, she tripped and fell directly into someone. He stepped back and put his arm out, keeping her upright. "God, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," He said, keeping his hand on her shoulder until he was sure she was steady on her feet.

"I wasn't watching where I was going."

"I wasn't either," He said, causing her to focus on his face for the first time. She noticed his sunglasses next and the fact that he was wearing them despite the cloudy sky. Her eyes trailed down to the cane in his hand and she thought she actually might vomit.

"That wasn't supposed to be a blind joke or anything."

"I didn't think it was," He said, laughing.

"I'm going to start over. I'm Avery and I'm sorry for body checking you."

"I'm Matt and all is forgiven. You'd be surprised by how often it happens." He adjusted his red-tinted glasses and smiled at her. Avery couldn't help but smile back at him. Realizing that she had let the silence extend for too long between them, she cleared her throat awkwardly and stepped back, rubbing her hands together.

"Okay, sorry again." She blushed and bounced on her feet. "I'll see you around."

Matt laughed and shook his head, clearly sensing that she was currently as red as his sunglasses, even without the ability to see for himself. "I'll see you around, Avery." Avery smiled at him and stepped back, biting her lip.

"Okay, bye."

"Okay."

"Right."

She turned around and walked further away from the park, unable to stop herself from glancing back at him once more. She supposed everyone would. He was cute, after all, and cuteness was not something she generally ignored. In fact, it was a welcome distraction to her own problems.

But then he was gone.

Avery looked down at her feet, keeping her arms close to her chest so that she wouldn't bump into anyone, or accidentally brush her skin against someone.

She had never realized how many people there were in New York until that moment. Well, now there were two less. Regret flared up in chest again. She had told herself that it was the best solution. Clearly, she had severely miscalculated. The poor trashcan had done nothing to her. Neither had Peter and Steve, for that matter, but that didn't save them from her sudden bad mood.

She paused and looked up at the sky, contemplating for a moment.

She could try. It wouldn't hurt. She glanced around once, making sure she wasn't being watched.

"Heimdall," She said quietly, embarrassed almost that she was even saying it out loud. Still, she said it louder the second time.

Nothing.

She supposed that settled that.


	23. Chapter 23

Avery collapsed onto her bed, soaking wet and miserable just before 1 o'clock in the morning. She didn't bother to take off her wet clothes, perfectly content to wallow in her own feelings for the rest of the night. As soon as her body hit the mattress, Mandu jumped on her back and pawed at the back of her neck for a moment, clearly wanting more attention than she was willing to give him, before he settled on her lower back in a fuzzy ball. She flopped her sopping hair over the edge and stared at the floor, running her fingers along the soft carpet rhythmically until she rubbed the tip raw with carpet burn.

She switched to her other hand and continued, drawing intricate patterns on the floor and swiping them clean before she started a new design all over again.

About two hours after she left the park it started raining. She thought it was appropriate, given her overall mood, and she spent the rest of the day wandering around the city without an umbrella until her skin turned properly prunie. She enjoyed the solitude, while it lasted, but when it got dark, and she got cold, she decided it was time for her to come back and stop acting like her life was a sad music video.

She swirled her hand around, smoothing the groves her fingers made in the carpet like it was sand, clearing away any sign that she had been there before she started writing her full name.

Avery Marie Gudrun.

Daughter of Fulla, Asgardian goddess extraordinaire and small crafts enthusiast.

Or something.

She scrubbed her hand to cover over her name and pressed her face into the mattress.

Avery rolled over and sighed, folding her arm over her chest as she stared up at the ceiling. Her clothes smushed underneath her, squeezing out the rest of the water onto her sheets until there was a human-shaped stain left behind. She should get up and shower and try and get some sleep. That would be the responsible thing to do. She should also try and eat something.

Instead, she stared at the ceiling for the better part of an hour alternating between blinking rapidly and holding her eyes open until they watered as she absentmindedly rubbed the top of Mandu's head.

The sound of someone knocking on her door pulled her out of her reverie, forcing her back to reality in a jarring way that caused her entire body to tense up. She waited for them to knock again, to see if they would go away and leave her to her staring.

"Avery?" They were more persistent the second time, forcing her to heave herself out of bed and drag herself to the door. She threw it open with all the energy of a sloth and was surprised to find Steve standing there, arm held up mid knock. He pulled his arm back and smiled at her. "Hi. I wasn't sure you got back. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, its fine."

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, her clothes still dripping onto the carpet before Avery jumped slightly and stepped aside, realizing that she was being rude by leaving him standing in the common area. "Would you like to come in?"

"Oh, um, yes." He rubbed the back of his neck and walked in, face red.

She watched his back and closed the door, finding that she was unnaturally nervous for reasons she couldn't explain. Avery tapped the doorknob anxiously until she noticed that Steve had a bag of Chinese in his hand, giving her something to talk about rather than let the silence stretch on any longer. "You brought food."

"You missed lunch," He paused, looking around her room for a place to sit. He stared at her bed briefly before he settled on the ground next to the large window that overlooked the city below. He set the bag down and sat on the ground, pulling out the plastic containers of food and laying them out in front of his crossed legs. "And dinner."

"I was wandering."

"Anywhere interesting?" She walked over to her closet and opened it, looking for something to change into. She was fine with dripping water everywhere when it was just her, but now that Steve was there, she thought better of that plan.

"Not particularly." She rummaged through the meager collection of clothes she had, finally settling on a pair of sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt. She stepped inside her closet and closed the door, giving herself some privacy. She stripped quickly and pulled on the pants, wiggling until they were at the right place on her hips. She pulled the t-shirt on, regretfully leaving on her soaking bra and stepped back out of the closet, closing it behind her so he wouldn't be able to see how messy it was. Truly, it was a miracle that her room was even clean at all. When she was upset, she had a tendency to leave her stuff all over the place. "It was mostly just a lot of walking and brooding."

"Do you like orange chicken?"

"Duh," Avery said, dropping down to the floor in front of him. "Doesn't everybody?"

"I've never tried it." He finished pulling out the few plastic containers and handed her one before he set the bag aside. "Tony mentioned something about it being comfort food. I thought it might make you feel better."

"You and Tony have been talking?"

"I wouldn't say talking, necessarily." Steve opened his own container of food and looked at the chicken with interest. "I didn't think it would actually be orange."

"The brighter, the better." Avery took a massive bite of her own food, savoring the taste with a small smile. "I think it's good that you and Tony are talking. Even if it is about me."

Steve took a small bite of chicken, seeming to process the taste before he decided it wasn't bad and took another. "He isn't what I expected."

"That usually happens." Avery watched his face carefully, pausing with her fork midway to her mouth. "I was obsessed with Tom Cruise forever. Top Gun was like a dream come true for me. Then I watched him on Oprah and it turns out he's just an asshole with nice teeth."

"I don't know who either of those people are."

"Well, one is a probably going to president one day and the other will be the leader of a cult that ends in a mass suicide."

"Which one is which?"

"Yet to be determined." Avery smiled into her chicken, noticing that Steve, despite not really understanding what she was saying, did the same. "But Tony, he's a different beast entirely."

"He doesn't take anything seriously. Even when we were talking about you," Steve stopped at the look on her face. "Not that you come up often. He thinks everything is a joke. Everything." Avery set down her container of food and scooted closer to him, reaching out a hesitant hand to touch his shoulder. He didn't flinch or make any sign that he was somehow bothered by the physical contact. She tried not to dwell on that fact too much, unwilling to let her mind wander into swooning territory. "His dad, Howard, joked around but he always knew how to take things seriously when the time came. Tony, he…"

"Handles his shit in his own way. Howard was in WWII. That probably sobers people up a bit."

Steve set down his own container of food and turned towards the window. "He's so hard to be friends with."

"You don't really have anything in common," Avery said, pulling her arm back so she could continue eating her food before it got too cold and the sauce started congealing. "There isn't anything wrong with that. There was this girl in my third foster home that I really tried to like, but it just wasn't happening. She was an Aries, I'm a Virgo. You know how that goes. Anyway, we shared a room for four months and we never got passed the saying hi and goodbye phase. We both tried, but some people just aren't meant to get along."

"The astrological signs are still something people pay attention to?"

"No. Sort of. I only know because my mom was obsessed with it for a good chunk of my formative years. It's a bit ironic, now that I think about it." Avery took a big bite of chicken, thoughts wandering back to all the times her mom read to her from the paper as if the stars had some sort of bearing over her in any way, shape, or form. It was a simpler time, she mused to herself, and one that she wished she could go back to. "Back to you and Tony, though. I think he's probably an intense person even without an alien invasion. You can't expect him to be okay with it in the same way you are. Just give it time. If you can't find anything to talk about, ask him about his latest project. That'll get him talking."

"You seem to understand him." He wasn't accusing her of anything, but she felt put on the spot all the same.

"Honestly," She paused, hoping that what she was about to say wasn't going to be received poorly. "I have to try so hard with all of you. If it seems like we understand each other then I guess I've accomplished something because we don't. He's a billionaire who's in a healthy relationship and I'm me. There's not a lot of overlap there."

"About as much as someone from 1945?"

"Maybe a bit more."

"He seems to take everything I say the wrong way."

"Have you asked him about it?" Avery asked, trying to keep her tone light.

"No. Like I said, we don't really talk." His eyes were obnoxiously blue and she found herself staring at them for a bit too long to not be considered creepy. "You don't have to try with me, you know."

"Don't I?"

"No. Never." Her chest filled with something warm. He probably didn't realize what his words meant to her, but she still took them to heart and internalized them. There was an acceptance there, one that she hadn't felt for ten years, and she didn't quite know how to process it. After a moment he sighed heavily and leaned back, pressing his back against the window. "When I went into the ice, it was the middle of a war."

"And then you woke up to one a few weeks later." She wondered if it was disrespectful to compare the two. He didn't seem to mind, considering he nodded and looked down at his hands.

"It feels normal."

"And that bothers you?" Avery asked, watching his face carefully.

"It should, but it doesn't."

"Your secret is safe with me." She smiled at him as she pressed her face against the cool glass, looking down at the city below them. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with finding the familiarity comforting."

"People died," Steve reminded her, expression stricken and pained looking. "And I should feel something the way you are."

"What I'm feeling is not something I would want duplicated or imitated." Avery watched as a helicopter passed by the tower, searchlight dancing over the buildings as it headed towards its destination. She wondered if it was carrying someone, or if it was simply just patrolling while the rest of the cleanup effort carried on below. They had started trying to move the leviathans while they were in the park, although the process was slow. "If you're okay with all of this, then I envy you."

"Don't." Mandu took the silence that passed between them as his opportunity to crawl into the space on the floor next to Steve's knee, apparently unhappy with the lack of attention he had been given. "Hey, buddy." Steve picked up the cat and ran a hand along his back, eliciting a soft purr. Avery reached out a hand and scratched Mandu under his chin. "He's been good?"

"He sleeps, mostly, and complains when his bowl isn't completely full." Avery smiled at the cat and leaned forward, pressing a light kiss between his eyes. "Thanks for bringing me food, by the way."

"You're welcome." He glanced over at her, eyebrow raised.

"And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier in the park." Steve set Mandu back on the ground and rotated his body so that he was facing her completely. "I don't know what's going on with me."

"It's really okay," Steve said, resting his forearms on his knees. "I think I know a bit about what you're going through."

"Really?"

"A bit. I already told you that I was pretty scrawny for most of my life. After I got the serum, everything about me changed. I got taller, my muscles got bigger, my eyesight got better, my hearing improved. I was in a completely new body. I ran into so many doorframes at first." Avery tried to imagine Steve running into things the way he described it, picturing a man of his size bumping into things like a pinball. "Sometimes, I still wake up and expect to be that same small kid."

"Do you ever open doors too strong?"

"I did. Not anymore, though." He looked over at her again, expression much more intense than before. "Whatever is happening with you will pass, I promise."

"That's pretty bold." Steve shrugged, smiling at her in the most comforting way imaginable. "New York is too big." Steve hummed in agreement but didn't move his gaze away from her face, like she had expected from her change of conversation. "I miss New Mexico. Not my life there, but the openness. It was easier to disappear."

"Is that what you want?"

"Sometimes. That was always the goal each time I moved, but I was never very good at it. I thought if I kept moving, that I wouldn't ever have to deal with my problems. I was alone and it was easy. The second someone realize what I could do, I would grab my stuff and bolt. It sucked and I was lonely, but it was easier than having people treat me like a freak." Avery blinked rapidly and scooted back, dropping her head into her hands so she could rub her eyes. "Listen to me, being all morose and awful. We should be talking about something more cheery. Like, why I always see you drawing on napkins."

"Tony doesn't believe in paper," Steve said cheekily, earning a small smile from her. "It helps me clear my head. It's just a hobby."

"You're pretty good."

"Am I?"

"I might have snuck a peak at one of the ones you threw in the trash." She tipped her chin to the side and smirked at him, remembering the details of the picture Steve had thrown away. It wasn't exactly polite. "I have to say, your version of Tony says a lot."

Steve blushed crimson and looked away again. "I'm not proud of that one."

"I thought it was funny," Avery reassured him. She liked that side of him, the one that seemed more well-adjusted and open. Not that she had any right to judge him in that aspect, but it felt almost like she was enjoying a meal with an old friend and not somebody who she had only known for a few weeks. "I kept it," She admitted, enjoying the look of surprise on his face.

"I can draw you a better one."

"Would you?"

"Of course." He peered at her out of the corner of his eye. "On real paper."

"How about Mandu?" She ran her fingers along Mandu's spine, smiling to herself as he curled up in the space between their legs.

"You want me to draw a picture for him?"

"While I'm sure he would appreciate it, I meant a picture of him."

"That makes more sense," Steve said, laughing.

"It's a good thing you're pretty."

Steve batted his eyelashes dramatically for a moment before he seemed to remember something important. "I forgot, Tony got a call today while you were out. They were asking for you."

"Who was it?"

"He didn't say."

Avery scowled and rolled her eyes, realizing that she would probably have to wait until a more reasonable hour to figure out who called. She also realized that it was entirely her fault that she had to wait, considering it was her own need for alone time that kept her from being in the tower when the call came in. She relaxed after a moment, making a personal resolution to worry about it in the morning. She had spent too much of that day in her own head space.

Instead, she decided to enjoy the company and the free food.

* * *

Jane Foster folded her arms over her chest and watched the elevator numbers tick up as they got closer to the penthouse. Darcy was practically vibrating with excitement next to her, blabbing on about Tony Stark and what it would be like to meet him. Jane wasn't nearly as impressed, although she could admit that she had always found him to be interesting, in a shallow, tabloid gossip sort of way.

Truthfully, not much of anything excited her now that she knew Thor was off world once again.

She had never considered herself to be the sort of woman who pined, in any sense of the word, but the feelings swirling around inside her were decidedly not pragmatic enough. She tried to push them down and focus on why she was in Stark Tower in the first place.

"I'm sorry about Thor, Janie," Darcy said, sidling up next to her with a sympathetic smile on her face. "It's so very bureaucratic, if you think about it."

"He probably wasn't thinking about me."

"Bullshit." Darcy nudged her, waggling her eyebrows. "You're a certified hottie with a brain. Such a rare combination, these days."

"This isn't helping, Darce."

"How much do you think this tower cost to build?" Darcy ran her hands along the railing, eyes bright and conspiratorial. "I could be happy here. Maids waiting on you hand and foot, hobbit style meals, being best friends with Captain America."

"I thought I was your best friend."

"You're my employer and he's an American hero. All that perfectly coifed blond hair and patriotism just waiting to be corrupted. It's so hot." Darcy got a faraway look on her face as she bit her lip, smirking at whatever fantasy she had concocted up in her head. Jane cringed, completely sure she didn't want to know what she was picturing. "I bet he smells very clean."

"Well, he might be here. You can tell him yourself."

"A man from his time might appreciate that kind of forwardness."

"Or you might scare him off and get us kicked out," Jane said as gently as possible, hoping that, despite the humorous nature of their conversation, Darcy wasn't actually planning on hitting on him. They had a purpose for visiting Stark Tower and it wasn't to get Darcy a date. Convincing her of that might be easier said than done, however, so Jane made sure to give Darcy a stern look, just in case.

"I'm honestly surprised you could even get through to them."

"I have my ways."

"You threatened to go public with it, didn't you?"

"Only slightly." Jane smiled at Darcy and straightened her suit jacket, smoothing out the nonexistent wrinkles as the elevator slowed to a stop. "Now, remember what we talked about?"

"We talk about a lot." Jane glared at Darcy who simply smirked back. "Kidding. You look great by the way. Not at all depressed about Thor leaving you once again."

"Thanks, Darcy."

Darcy winked at her.

"Dr. Foster, welcome to Stark Tower." Jane shot Darcy one more warning look as she turned to Tony Stark. He was shorter than he looked on tv, but just as handsome and confident. He walked towards them with his arms spread out, a welcoming look on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes. Jane tried to smile at him, but found it was much harder than expected, so she settled on simply nodding as a form of greeting. "And friend."

"Darcy Lewis," Darcy said, holding out her hand as she stepped out of the elevator with the sort of confidence Jane could only imagine. "I'm her assistant."

"She was the only applicant." Jane didn't really feel like she needed to qualify that anymore, but it was such a force of habit it was now almost like a verbal tick. Darcy smirked at her, clearly not offended, and turned to look at the fancy looking penthouse with wide sweeping eyes.

"This is swanky." Darcy smiled at Tony, oblivious to the look on Jane's face. "Except for that giant sheet of plastic, of course." She gestured to the large broken window, mouth twisting into a playful smirk. Tony smiled slightly and nodded.

"A decent interior decorator is so hard to find these days." Tony's voice was light, but Jane noticed, once again, that it didn't reach his eyes. "Dr. Banner is waiting for us, if you'll follow me," Tony said, cutting right to the chase. Jane appreciated that. She had never been one for small talk. "You brought all your information?"

"It's not much," Jane said, feeling the need to apply a disclaimer before Tony started to read too much into what she had come to tell them about. "S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't too interested when I first told them, but I thought you might be able to do something more with it."

"Well, I'm glad you called."

"Where is she?"

"She's with Rogers. She doesn't know that you called."

"I would like to speak to her, before we get started," Jane said, following Tony as he led her and Darcy up a set of glass stairs. "I have some things we need to clear up."

"Like?" Tony turned back to her, eyebrows raised.

"I might be the reason Avery was with S.H.I.E.L.D. in the first place."

"Awkward."

"I think I should apologize."

"I'll let you and Dr. Banner set up. JARVIS?"

" _Yes sir?"_

"Have Avery and Rogers meet us in Dr. Banner's temporary lab."

" _Of course, sir."_

"A.I.?" Jane asked, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Something like that," Tony said, purposefully vague. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"Champagne," Darcy said, ignoring Jane's hard elbow in her side.

"Water, for both of us."

Tony nodded and walked down a small hallway, leading them through what Jane assumed was the most private part of his life. She felt a bit intrusive as they passed by the private rooms, and slightly excited at the same time. There wasn't anybody on earth quite like Tony Stark. He was Iron Man, for goodness sake. He was an enigma that the media tended to obsess over. It was odd to her that all it took to get inside was mentioning Thor and, after finding out he was freshly off-world, Avery Gudrun. Tony made sure Jane was on the next flight out.

Tony opened a door to his left and stepped back to let them both inside before he walked away, presumably to go get their drinks. Dr. Bruce Banner looked up from his clipboard and smiled at Jane, nervously getting up from his chair to walk across the small space to shake her hand.

"Dr. Foster."

"Dr. Banner," Jane said, shaking his hand enthusiastically. "Your paper on genetic variation of bacteria based on proximity to gamma radiation is fantastic. If we have time later, I would love to pick your brain about your methodology, if you don't mind?"

"Of course," Bruce said, clearly surprised to hear such praise from her. "Who's this?"

"Darcy Lewis. I'm her assistant."

"Nice to meet you."

Jane looked around the small lab, finding that she was more comfortable amongst the equipment and whirling machines. The room was obviously only supposed to be temporary, judging by the boxes and containers piled in the corners haphazardly. He had set up some of his larger machines and had a litany of plants in large pots stacked up underneath a grow light along the right wall. Jane cleared her throat after making her observations and pulled her bag off her shoulder and set it down on a nearby table. She flipped through the files she had with her and found the one she collected on Avery and grabbed it, holding it out for Dr. Banner.

"I wasn't with her long enough to really find anything, but my analysis of her genetic sample is in there."

He grabbed it and opened it immediately, flipping through the papers.

"I'll be over there," Darcy said, pointing to an empty seat on the other side of the room, understanding the need to be out of their way.

Jane nodded, glancing at her briefly before she moved closer to Dr. Banner so they could look at the papers together. "This is Avery's?"

Jane ran her finger along the print out of alleles and covered the other sample. "I didn't have much to go on."

"If Avery agrees, we can take more samples."

"Do you think she will?"

"She's been having a hard time lately. I honestly don't know her well enough to know how she'll react."

Jane scowled briefly before she shook her head, nervousness blooming in her chest at the thought of how she might react. "She's Asgardian."

"Thor thought so as well, but it will be nice to confirm more definitively. We might be able to help her."

"Help her?"

Dr. Banner seemed uncomfortable for a moment, giving Jane the impression that he didn't really want to speak too much about Avery without her in the room. Still, he closed the folder and stepped back, leaning against a nearby metal table with his arms crossed over his chest.

"She's n…"

"Jane?" Jane turned around on the balls of her feet. Avery stared at her in the doorway, mouth pursed into a dissatisfied grimace. She looked exhausted, with her messy hair and dark circles under her eyes, but not altogether as angry as Jane would have thought. she let out a relieved puff of air and folded her hands on front of her stomach. "What are you doing here?"

"She's here to help with some tests," Tony said, clearly not as concerned with sugarcoating it as Jane might have been. He hovered behind her, hand balanced on her shoulder so that he was barely touching her.

"Why?"

"I found something weird in your DNA." That seemed like the simplest way to say it without going into too much detail.

"I never gave you a sample," Avery said, walking into the room with Tony. Jane froze when the third person walked in, involuntarily blushing despite herself. Steve Rogers seemed to fill the space and make it hotter than before, but not oppressively so. She noticed that he was far more attractive in person, with his hair and eyes and muscles. He was a bit like Thor in that sense. Jane mentally chided herself. Moping had to wait.

She found herself needing to repeat that resolution more often than she would have liked.

Steve regarded her for a moment, bright blue eyes scanning her before he walked over and held out his hand.

"Steve Rogers, ma'am."

Jane held down a squeak. "Jane Foster."

"You forgot the Dr." Darcy sidled up out of nowhere and stepped in front of Jane, smiling rakishly up at Steve. "Hi, Darcy Lewis, single, _CAP_ ricorn, dog lover." Steve, perhaps without realizing, looked over at Avery, although she was too busy glaring at Jane to notice, before he smiled awkwardly at Darcy and shook her hand as well.

"How did you get my sample?" Avery asked, clearly annoyed with brief conversation.

"I requested it from S.H.I.E.L.D.. I think they gave it to me to keep me from asking too many questions. I was curious, so I ran a few tests."

"Intrusive and creepy. How nice. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"This might be difficult for you to process, but…"

"I'm Asgardian."

Jane blinked rapidly, staring at the blonde woman for a moment before she recovered. "Did you know the entire time?"

"No, it's a recent development. How did you figure it out?"

"I ran a sample of your DNA against Thor's. They weren't an exact match, but they were close enough for me to get the picture."

"I thought you were a physicist."

"It's a personal interest of mine."

"Clearly," Avery said, eyes narrowing. After another moment of staring Jane down, Avery turned towards Tony. "Why didn't you tell me they were coming?"

"Last minute thing, kid. Untwist your undies. Besides, I assumed Rogers would have told you when he snuck into your room last night."

An awkward silence fell over the room. Darcy looked positively giddy at the very idea of Captain America sneaking into anybody's room and seemed liable at any moment to say something that would inevitably make things more awkward. Jane reached down and pinched Darcy's hand, shooting her a warning look.

"You should have told me." Avery said to Tony, more quietly so the others had to strain to listen.

"Why? So you could say no?"

"I was calling about Thor…" Jane said, trying to make the situation a little more comfortable. Avery shot her another glare.

"Who completely ditched once again without saying goodbye," Darcy piped up, causing everyone on the stairs to turn and look at her. Unlike Jane, she did not blush under the scrutiny. "What? I'm just saying. He could have waited a day."

"That's irrelevant right now," Jane said pointedly, turning back to Avery with, what she hoped, was a placating look on her face. "Avery, I didn't know that Thor would tell you. I thought you had a right to know, so I came to tell you in person and," Jane cleared her throat, pausing for a moment before she continued. "And to apologize for turning you in in the first place."

Avery stared at her.

"See, Aves, not everything is so dramatic," Tony said, elbowing her as a way of ending the uncomfortable silence that passed between them.

"Is that all?"

"We also thought me run some tests to see if we can't figure out what's been happening with your powers." Jane was thankful Dr. Banner was the one to tell her, saving Jane from potentially upsetting her more. "Off the books."

Avery debated it for a moment, biting her lip in a way that clearly showed her discomfort with the entire thing. She looked over at Steve, amber eyes tracing his face as he looked back at her and smiled ever so slightly, almost so slight that Jane missed it, and nodded his head in a comforting way. "What kind of tests?"

"Nothing like what S.H.I.E.L.D. did," Dr. Banner assured her. Jane noticed, for the first time, that they kept a great amount of distance between and used both Steve and Tony as a buffer. "I promise."

Jane could she her thought process written all over her face. She wrung her hands together and tapped her foot nervously. After a moment that seemed to stretch on forever, she agreed, shoulders tensed up until they were almost around her shoulders.

"Mr. Stark, do you mind if Darcy waits in the living room?"

"What…"

"Darce," Jane hissed, trying to give her as significant a look as possible without it being too obvious. "Why don't you go call Erik? See how's he's doing and tell him we'll be by later to see him again."

"Right. Of course. Gotcha." Jane wanted to face palm, but she resisted the urge to do so and watched, to her horror, as Darcy clicked her tongue and pointed at her, walking backwards towards the door. "See you later."

The remaining five watched her leave. Once the door closed behind her, Tony turned to Avery and clapped his hands together, rubbing them with a conspiratorial look on his face. "J, pull up Avery's file."

" _Where would you like it?"_

"Monitor four." Tony walked over to the screen in question and immediately started scrolling through numerous files at lightning speed, eyes dancing across it until he found what he was looking for. "This is the last physical you took."

Dr. Banner walked over and looked at the file, scrolling the screen down when he finished reading what was on the page. Jane, pushing down her feelings of awkwardness about her place, went to join them. Just as when Tony led them to Dr. Banner's lab, Jane had the undeniable sense that she was somehow intruding. She didn't know how long they had known each other, only a few weeks she assumed based on the timeline of the Chitauri invasion, but they already seemed to move around each other with such ease.

Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hidden gift was the ability bring people together who might not have found each other otherwise. She glanced back at Avery. She had moved to one of the chairs and taken a seat, bouncing her leg nervously as she waited for them to decide where to start. Steve had moved to stand next to her, squeezing her shoulder as he leaned down and whispered something that caused her to smile and nod.

Jane looked away.

She needed to be pragmatic, not bitter. Creative, not jealous. Empathetic towards the other woman in the room, not upset about the fact that Thor had decided to leave, once again, without even bothering to try and see her. She was Dr. Jane Foster. She could be professional and help Avery. There was time for missing Thor later. When she had a bucket of ice-cream and could be alone. For now, she rolled her shoulders back and went to stand next to Dr. Banner and Tony, taking her place as she leaned in and looked at Avery's physical.

* * *

"I'm not imagining things right?" Tony asked, turning the tablet upside down as he cocked his head to the right. It had been a long day and Avery felt like a glorified pincushion. She rubbed the spot where they had taken her blood, watching Tony with a nervous expression on her face. She didn't like his tone. She also didn't like the way Bruce and Jane were staring at her like they didn't quite understand what they were looking at either. "She's twenty-two. Shouldn't this have happened like ten years ago?"

"It isn't normal for humans. Physically and mentally, she's mature." Bruce looked at the test again, comparing it to a piece of paper in his hand. "She isn't completely human, though, so there's no way of knowing how young Asgardians develop their powers. This could be how it works."

"So I'm experiencing another puberty?" Avery asked, face seemingly paling at the very idea. "What kind of bullshit is this?"

"There was probably a stressor," Bruce said, walking back over to Avery with a small syringe. "What was your power level before joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Baseline."

"What does that mean?" Jane asked, walking back over to Avery so she could press her fingers against her thyroid.

"Making people reveal their secrets."

"Now?"

"That and a little more."

"Avery."

Avery looked over at Tony, debating with herself for a moment before she sighed and looked at her hands, forcing herself not to push Jane's hands off her. "I can make these shield like things."

"What?"

"I don't know how to describe them. They're gold, and big, and can hold the weight of a desk."

"How long have you been able to do that?" Bruce asked, scribbling it down hurriedly on his clipboard.

"Since the Chituari. Does that make sense?"

"Actually, it does. Before Jane snitched on you, you couldn't really do much in terms of your first power. It was erratic and hard for you to control. Six months with S.H.I.E.L.D. and now you can use them with at least a small amount of control and accuracy. Brucie isn't green, so you must have made some sort of progress on that front," Tony said in a rush.

"So the second one?"

"There's not much more stressful than aliens."

"Why can't I control it, though?"

"What does it feel like?" Bruce asked, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"What?"

"Your powers? What do they feel like? Does it feel like energy flowing, or like water that you're trying to hold in?"

"A little bit of both, I guess," She trailed off, flashing back to what her mom always said when it came to her powers. "You've got to hold it in, Avie. Keep it in." She whispered the last part to herself, looking away from the others for a moment.

"Conceal, don't feel, if you will," Tony said, clearly thinking it was the time for jokes. Avery wasn't laughing.

"Fuck off, this isn't Frozen."

"Okay, testy."

"My mom always told me that if I didn't use my powers, it would get better eventually. She said that holding them in was better than using them and alienating myself from people." Avery scrubbed her hands together, nails digging into her palms until she cringed from the pain.

"If you spent your entire life trying to cover up your powers, it would explain why all of a sudden you can't seem to hide them anymore. That's a lot of energy to try and keep contained. The added stress of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Chitauri would make it basically impossible."

"So, trying to hide it, like my mom always told me to do, actually made it worse?"

"Probably."

Avery scowled at her hands, gripping and squeezing her fingers together until the skin turned a pasty white. She could feel something building up inside her, simmering and bubbling just beneath the surface like boiling water rising to the top. Her muscle clenched, shoulders tensed, legs pressed down into the metal bench as she fought to control it. She could feel it getting away from her. She leaned back, shaking her head as she sounds around her dulled into a nothing more than a high pitched whistle. Tony was saying something, grabbing her arms to keep her steady as he spoke, but all she could hear was the ringing in her ears.

Tony put his hand on her neck, supporting her chin as she pitched backwards under the weight of the energy rushing through her body.

The anger seemed to appear out of nowhere, red hot and violent as it coursed through her body.

Her mom told her that it was better to try and hide it. She told her that it would just get better eventually.

But it didn't.

She fought it, trying desperately to hold onto it until she realized she couldn't do it anymore.

Avery shook her head more quickly, weakly trying to push Tony away from her before she accidentally hurt him, or worse. A weak gold color creeped into her vision, clouding what she saw and turning everything in front of her a sickly yellow color. She shoved Tony harder, using her legs to kick his thighs frantically.

"Avery, stop!"

"I can't!" She squeezed every muscle she had until it felt like they were being ripped away from her bones.

"Move!" Steve grabbed Tony and pulled him behind him, shielding him with his body just in time as Avery let out a scream, unable to hold onto it anymore.

Steve wrapped his arms around her and pushed her to the ground next to Tony just in time to avoid being hit with flying glass and debris. All around them different shaped bubbles expanded and exploded in loud pops, destroying the freshly cleaned lab and windows. The wind from outside rushed in, adding to the chaos and making it harder for Avery to concentrate enough to stop.

If she even could.

Steve pressed her into the ground, hand covering her face. He dipped his head to avoid the flying glass and stared down at her, propping himself up on one arm so he wouldn't crush her. Tony scooted under the nearest table to him and covered his head, watching the scene unfold in front of them with mouth agape.

"Look at me." Steve voice sound so far away, but she looked up at him, watery eyes frantically trying to find an anchor to hold onto. "Avery."

"I'm sorry," She said, voice barely more than a whisper. Everything hurt. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She said the mantra over and over until her voice petered off into nothing. The hand covering her face moved to her chin, tipping her face so that she was forced to look at him more fully. "I'm sorry," She said again, unable to stop herself from crying at the look on his face.

"It's okay," he said slowly, moving over her a bit more when one of Tony's computers exploded directly behind them. The golden mass that caused the explosion kept expanding, moving towards them like an ever-growing germ. The seams inside the mass were more uniform than she expected them to be. Like bricks almost, if bricks were twisted and gnarled like ropes. "Just focus on me."

She looked back at him, biting her lip as she struggled to keep from watching the golden mass that was moving closer and closer to them. It was directly above his head now, hovering at the same size.

"I'm sorry," She sobbed, closing her eyes. With one more deafening explosion punctuating the chaos, everything suddenly stopped. She felt Steve let out a relieved breath above her and relax.

"Avery, look at me."She kept her eyes stubbornly shut until he said it again, voice soft and comforting. "It's okay."

She reached up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down into a tight hug, unable to stop herself from crying into his shoulder. "I have to get out of the city," She said, voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. "There's too many people."

"Aver..."

"I could kill somebody."

Steve didn't argue.


	24. Chapter 24

" _No official statement has been given about what caused the explosion in Stark Tower. The two people injured by falling glass are expected to make a full recovery and only suffered min…"_

" _Today we're talking to a former maintenance worker from Stark Industries. Stay tuned for the details on whose sleeping with who…"_

" _Numerous eye witnesses report seeing a mysterious blonde woman leaving with Tony Sta…"_

" _Where is Pepper Potts and why is Tony Stark spending time with another woma…"_

" _Which Avenger are you? Take our quiz online and call in your results. Personally, I think I'm a Th…"_

Tony clicked off the radio and looked over at Avery, eyeing her carefully out of the corner of his eye while they sped down the highway. She could practically feel him staring at her, although, for once, it didn't bother her as much as it normally would. She didn't have the energy, mental or physical, to say something snarky and opted, instead, for staring out her window and watching the world slip by.

The silence filled the cabin of the car, but Avery preferred it to listening to the radio and all the gossip that was now swirling. They didn't know her name, which both bothered her and comforted her at the same time. She did not appreciate the fact that they kept calling her 'unnamed companion' and 'unknown woman', but being able to slip away without much thoroughfare, at least on her part, was exactly what she was aiming for. At least until she could get herself under control, whatever that would mean, and feel comfortable being around large groups of people again. It was a lofty goal, she realized, and there was probably no connection between achieving it and fleeing back to New Mexico, but it was the only thing she could think of to do.

She just hadn't counted on the other two coming with her.

Steve shifted in the back seat, scooting forward so he could lean on the two front seats and look at them without forcing them to crane their necks. Tony glanced at him. "Remind me again. Why do you care so much about going to the beach? I would think that whole Normandy thing would put you off the idea for a while."

Avery turned in her seat, shooting Tony a dark look. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders, tapping his fingers along the steering wheel nonchalantly.

"The beach could be fun," Avery said, trying to keep things a neutral as possible. Tony didn't need to know that Steve didn't actually want to go to the beach in the slightest, that the only reason they were going so far south, only to head west was so that Steve could see Gabe Jones. Truthfully, she didn't know anything about him, only that he and Steve were war buddies. It was progress, if even only the littlest bit, and she was proud of him.

She didn't tell him that, of course.

"It's May. Name one beach that won't be full-up of lobster colored northerners building sandcastles."

"Steve wants to go."

"Well, _Steve_ could give a better reason besides fresh air," Tony said, scowling at Steve in the rear view mirror.

"I want to go too," Avery said, shifting in her sear so she could pull her legs up underneath her. She dropped the Starktech pad she had been using to go over the first of the work she was doing for Pepper into the sidepocket of the door and flexed her fingers. She rubbed her eyes next, massaging the tiredness in lieu of getting a good night's sleep. "Do you want to switch drivers?"

Truthfully, Avery was surprised either of them were with her in the first place. After destroying the lab, and taking the appropriate amount of time to control her rampant, and quite frankly justified, sobbing, she had immediately made a beeline for her room to pack an overnight bag. Originally, her plan had been to get a seat on the next flight out to New Mexico and try and forget the whole thing had ever happened. Neither of them had liked that idea much, which explained her current nightmare of sharing and enclosed space with Steve Rogers and Tony Stark for a multiday, cross-country road trip.

None of them had really settled into the situation and, thus, she had been forced to listen to Tony and Steve bitching at each other for the better part of a day.

Not that she wasn't thankful. But, the added headache of trying to keep them from killing each other only served to exhaust her even further.

Tony, for his part, used the excuse of needing to be in Malibu for a meeting in a week and a half. Pepper was in Frankfurt for a few weeks and, with her recent contribution to the tower's destruction, Tony said he wouldn't be able to get much work done anyway with all the workmen in and around the penthouse.

She didn't buy it for a second.

Neither did Steve, but he was decidedly more subtle about his suspicions than Avery was.

"No. We're almost there anyway."

"You sound so happy."

"I hate the beach," Tony said sourly, tapping his fingers more quickly. Avery turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"You live in Malibu."

Tony didn't dignify her with a response.

"Is it the sand?" Steve asked, eyes on the road.

"No. Although the case could be made for why it sucks."

"It's course and rough and irritating and its gets everywhere."

"Did you just quote the prequels?"

"It felt appropriate." Avery shrugged her shoulders and sat back in her seat, fingers picking at her ratty jean shorts. In the last day she had practically picked off all the fringe, leaving them depressingly 90s looking and far more indicative of her mental state than she would have liked.

"Well, you are the Jar Jar of this team."

"Do you mean Galactic Senator Jar Jar?"

"Definitely Phantom Menace Jar Jar."

"So, a liability and a shameless ploy to market toys and draw in younger viewers."

"Stone cold," Tony said, a little bit of humor finding its way back into his voice.

Avery smirked at him and looked over her shoulder, noticing the confused look on Steve's face. "You know, you really should invest in Star Wars."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "You mentioned that on the plane."

She covered her mouth and lowered her voice. "I am your father."

"That still doesn't make much sense."

"It's one of the biggest plot twists of all time. Snape killing Dumbledore, Rosebud is a sled, he was dead all along, they were on earth the entire time, none of them compare to that doozy." Steve stared at her, eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Tony snorted next to her and shook his head.

"Watch a lot of movies growing up?"

"A bit." Tony eyed her, apparently not buying the vagueness of her answer until she relented and amended her statement. "Okay, more than a bit. It was basically all I did for a couple of years."

When they pulled to a stop at a red light, Tony turned in his seat to look at her. She could tell they were close to the beach just based on the number of people wearing swimsuits on either side of the car. A group of girls, dubiously over eighteen, passed by and waved at Tony, shouting something that caused him to smirk and shake his head. Avery couldn't help but look back at Steve to see his response to it all, unsure of whether it would be what they said or what they were wearing that would alarm him the most. Just as she expected, his ears and neck was red. Avery covered her mouth with her hand again, this time to hide her smile, and looked back at Tony.

"You realize this is a bad idea, right?"

"In what way?"

"Well, we've got a solider from the 40s with us who will probably have a heart attack when he sees what a modern beach is like, me, who can't go out in public without being recognized, and you, who completely destroyed an entire lab with your mind and left the city for the reason of needing to be away from people. Seriously, you two don't see anything wrong with this plan?"

"Why would modern beaches give me a heart attack?"

"That's the part you picked out?" Tony pulled forward, scowling at every beach goer they passed by. "None of us even have swimsuits."

"We could always skinny dip."

"That sounds like fun. A goddess, a super soldier, and me."

"Walk into a bar."

"Shut up."

"You can park there," Avery said, pointing towards an empty spot along the road. Tony nodded and pulled in, turning off the car. The three of them sat in silence for a moment, each watching the people around them until Tony let out a sigh. Steve was the first to get out, leaving Avery and Tony alone for a moment. When she was sure the door was closed, she leaned over and gave Tony a very stern look. "Be nice."

"Whatever."

Avery smiled at him and jumped out of the car, shaking out her sore legs from sitting so long and walked over to Steve. The warm sun immediately caused the back of her neck to sweat underneath her thick layer of hair. She pulled it up into a messy bun, wishing she had decided to wear something besides a sweatshirt. She wiped her hand across her forehead and sidled up closer to Steve, shooting one more look at Tony inside the car as she did so. She leaned forward and lowered her voice, making it so that only Steve would hear her. "So what do you think?"

"I'm nervous."

"You should tell Tony. I think he'll be less of an ass if he knows why we're here."

"Maybe." Steve stepped up onto the curb and turned around, making their height difference even greater. "I'll meet you later."

Avery nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Steve seemed to consider it for a moment before she shook his head. He turned away from her for a moment, looking down at her his hands before he pivoted back to face her, expression pained. "What if I don't recognize him?"

Avery immediately walked over to him, making sure to keep a small distance between them in case that's what he needed at the moment. "I think you will."

"Seventy years is a long time."

"It hasn't been for you."

"But it has been for him."

"What do you remember the most about him? When you think of Gabe, what do you think of?" Steve was quiet for a moment before he smiled. "That kind of thing doesn't change, Steve, no matter how long."

"Thank you," Steve said, reaching out a slightly hesitant hand to touch her shoulder. "I shouldn't have barged into your room last night and told you, not with everything you have going on."

Avery shook her head and reached up her hand to touch his, carefully testing the waters for that kind of contact. "You're my friend. And my teammate, whatever that means now. You could have just as easily decided to come see Gabe on your own, but you didn't. I'll help you. I _want_ to help you."

"You don't have to do that."

"What?" They both pulled their hands back in tandem and allowed a little more space between them.

"You should be selfish right now."

"Captain America telling me to be selfish?" Avery smirked up at him, wrinkling her nose at the look on his face.

"Yes. Well, no, but yes. You scared me yesterday and I don't want that to happen again." Avery stepped back, mouth turning from the playful smile she had been sporting into a grimace. Steve's eyes widened as he seemed to realize what he said. "That's not what I meant. I just meant that I don't want you to worry about me, when you should be thinking about yourself."

"I am." She looked down at the ground, at her sandals in particular. She had borrowed them from Pepper, like the shorts she was wearing and the sweatshirt and just about everything else. Just like the job, and the bed she had barely slept in for the last few weeks. Everything she actually owned was back in her mother's house, every moment that had been hers was back in that dry little old house at the bottom of the hill. "Will you tell me how it goes with Gabe? I would ask to meet him, but it's too important for you to go talk to him by yourself."

"Avery, you're…" He trailed off, seeming to decide against what he had planned on saying. "Never mind. I should go. Enjoy the beach."

He smiled at her briefly before he walked down the street, head dipped and shoulders tense. Avery wished she could go with him, knowing that he would probably end up upset and angry, but if he wanted that, he would have asked. Still, she couldn't help but watch him until he disappeared around the corner, chest tight with anxiousness at what the outcome would be.

"What are we going to with the cat?"

Avery whirled around, completely forgetting that Tony was there. "Were you listening in the whole time?"

"Yeah."

Avery rolled her eyes and turned back to the car, opening the passenger side door to grab her bottle of water and, apparently, her cat. Truthfully, when Steve mentioned wanting to make this little detour she hadn't thought about Mandu. The hotels that they had book along the way allowed animals, but she couldn't imagine a worse scenario for remaining incognito than to bring a cat with them. Mandu peered up and her and hissed when she shoved his harness over him. She clipped on the leash and pulled him out, turning back towards Tony. He was leaned against the side of the car, eyeing her with raised eyebrows.

"So who is Rogers going to see?"

"If he wanted to tell you, he would have."

Tony made a dissatisfied noise and shut the door, locking it with an overly dramatic flourish. "So we just wait for him to finish his little soul quest? What are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know, go to beach," Avery said, already walking past him towards the tacky swim shop directly in front of them. "That looks promising, don't you think?"

"Ugh, no. You couldn't pay me enough to go in there."

"Fine. I'll meet you on the beach."

"I'll be under a tent, pretending I'm literally anywhere else." Tony scowled at the very idea. "Give me the cat."

"He has a name, you know."

"Don't push it," Tony said, holding out his arms. Avery smiled and walked forward, handing Mandu to Tony. Mandu hissed the moment he touched Tony, squirming and bitching to Avery's delight. Tony flipped him over and put his hand behind his head, cradling him like a furry baby, although it did nothing to keep Mandu from hissing once again. Tony gave up trying to placate the animal after a moment. He turned towards the beach and ignored the stares of people passing by. After about ten steps he paused and looked around. "Don't blow anything up!"

Avery flipped him off, hating that the only response was a cheeky grin and an obnoxiously loud bark of laughter.

She shook her head and walked into the little shop. It was everything she would hope for in a tacky seaside shop. She bounced on the balls of her feet excitedly, glancing around at all the bits and bobs just waiting for her to peruse. She rushed over to the wall of swimsuits, distracted by one that was high-waisted and covered in a pattern of various cat faces. She grabbed her size and held it against her frame. The vast majority of the time she had very little need for a swimsuit, but it was too cute to pass up. Besides, even though they were only at the beach so Steve could see one of his old war buddies, that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the water just a little bit.

"That looks good."

Avery turned away from the rack, fully prepared to say something snarky, but froze when she saw who spoke to her.

It was the creepy guy, John something, from the bookstore in New York. He held his hands up, smiling at her in a way that made her instantly uncomfortable.

"John?"

"Jack," He corrected, although he didn't seem offended.

"What are you doing here?"

"My mom lives here."

"Oh, that's totally normal and not stalkerish," Avery said, biting her lip.

"You thought I was…" He trailed off, staring at her oddly. When he furrowed his brows and pursed his lips, his scar pulled and made it stand out against his skin. "That would be weird."

"Very. Sorry, I'm a little high-strung."

"Work stuff?"

"You remembered?"

"Lucky guess."

"Right," Avery said slowly, trying to take a step back without making it seem too obvious. "Well, small world right. I'm going go, though, so good to see you. Tell your mom I said hi." Avery stopped, cringing. "Never mind. That's weird, you don't know me. I'm going to go."

Avery practically sprinted over to the counter and handed the teenager the two-piece, tapping her fingers nervously on the top. The teenager glanced up and rang up her items at an almost glacial pace. She eyed Jack behind her and rolled her eyes, scoffing as she stuffed her stuff into a blue plastic bag. "Did he say your boobs would look great in that?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"You look skeeved out and he looks like a rapist. Anyway, that's thirty-five."

Avery handed her two twenties. "Keep the change."

"Whatever."

"Great."

Avery hurried out of the store without looking back at Jack or the girl working behind the counter. She wanted to tell Tony, but thought he might just think she was crazy. Steve probably would too, now that she thought about it. It probably would sound a little weird to tell them that she ran into some random guy in New York all the way in Georgia. She was being paranoid. The recent events had put in the frame of mind to see anything as a threat and she was just reading too much into something that was nothing more than a simple coincidence. That was the only explanation that made sense.

Still, she ducked into the first alley she could find and hide behind the large dumpster. It smelled like death, but it made it so that she could spy on the direction Jack went without having to follow him.

Plus she would be able to change into her newly bought swimsuit, although the beach had all but lost its appeal.

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure she would inadvertently give someone a peepshow, she stripped off her jean shorts and sweatshirt and replaced them with the swimsuit.

She looked back down at her discarded clothes and sighed, realizing how absolutely ridiculous she was being. Huddled behind a dumpster, hiding and spying just because she thought some guy, who had every right to be outside New York City, it should be noted, was maybe following her.

It was stupid.

She was being stupid.

Still, she immediately pulled out her phone and scrolled through her minimal list of contacts until she found the name she was looking for. It rang once before Natasha answered.

" _Avery."_

"Natasha, I'm glad you answered."

" _I was mostly curious as to where you, Stark, and Steve disappeared to."_

"Do you know someone named Jack?"

" _What?"_

Avery sighed and held her phone against her shoulder, pushing herself back until her back touched the warm brick wall. Her exposed skin rubbed against the rough brick, but she slid down and folded her legs underneath her, making herself as small as possible to avoid being see. She folded her jean shorts and leaned forward, resting her elbow on her knee as she stalled for time before she had to explain her, quite frankly, ridiculous assumptions. "It was really weird."

" _Where are you?"_

"You aren't tracing this call?"

" _Stark has all your phones set to be untraceable. We've been looking for you since the explosion. You care to explain? Bruce didn't go into detail and Pepper isn't taking our calls."_

Avery bit her lip and sat back, tapping her head against the wall three times before she closed her eyes. "Something happened."

" _Obviously."_

"Do you know someone named Jack or not?"

" _I know a lot of Jack's. Give me a day and I can tell you more."_

"Thanks, Natasha."

" _Not so fast. Tell me where you are. You're supposed to be working peacefully in New York for Stark Industries, not disappearing in the middle of the night without telling us where you went. You made a deal, Avery, and Fury isn't going to like this. "_

The desire to tell her flared up in her chest, but she pushed it down. Despite the fact that Natasha was hinting trust, Avery didn't feel it and she certainly didn't want to go into details over the phone. She couldn't get away with saying nothing, however, not when she was asking for a favor, so she kept quiet for a moment as she thought about her words, carefully picking them out one by one so as to not give too much away but to also not sound like she was hiding something.

"I needed to get out of the city for a while. For my own health. It may or may not be related to the incident in Tony's lab. That's all I'll say."

" _Ballsy."_

"I…uh."

" _Avery, going off the radar without telling anyone isn't the way to make things easier for you."_

"I don't need a lecture. Not right now. I'm dealing with a lot of shit and I'm trying to work it out. I need this time so I'm taking it. I'll be back, I just can't promise when."

Natasha was quiet for a moment. Avery bit her lip waiting for her to continue all while worrying that she had crossed a line with the other woman yet again. _"We were supposed to get lunch,"_ Natasha said after the long pause, surprising Avery into an almost stunned silence.

"Natasha."

" _I don't need an explanation."_

"That's unexpected," Avery admitted, scooting out from her spot behind the trashcan so she could glance down the street. "Why the big change?"

" _Clint."_

"What?"

" _I'm not going to go into details. It's not my place, but we had a meeting with Fury this morning to discuss the evolving situation and Clint made it clear that he thought the best course of action would be to leave you alone, for the time being."_

Avery didn't know what to say. "Fury accepted that?"

" _He did when I agreed."_

"Why would you do that?"

" _Did you cause the explosion?"_

"I did."

Natasha made an annoyed noise at the back of her throat, but didn't say anything nasty, like Avery would have expected from such an admission. _"That's what I thought."_

"What?"

" _You're a shitty liar and an even shittier secret keeper."_

"Hey!" Avery snapped, ducking down slightly when realized how loud her voice was. "I haven't told a soul about all that shit you told me. Not a damn person and I'm not going to."

" _Then why can't you give me the same courtesy?"_

"You didn't trust me with that information. I took it."

" _I have to trust you now. All I ask it that you return the favor. What happened in that lab?"_

Avery bit her lip. "You can't tell Fury."

" _Can I tell Clint?"_

"Is Clint going to blab?"

" _He went to bat for you,"_ Natasha said, voice becoming more forceful.

"I still want an explanation for that, by the way."

" _Fury isn't going to back off unless you give me something."_

"So you can use it against me in the future?"

" _No. So that we can help you."_

"I'm helping myself."

" _Is that what you call this? Running away again?"_

Avery's hand clenched the jean shorts in her hand, squeezing the worn out material until her knuckles went white. "Natasha, I blew up the lab with my mind. These germy looking, golden blobs of energy materialized out of thin air and then promptly exploded, taking Tony's lab with them. And that's not even the first time. No, the first time it happened and it was strong enough to hold up a desk and also kill a group of Chitauri that were after me and Peter. Then there was the trashcan and the…"

" _You have to come back,"_ Natasha said, cutting across her.

"I can't."

" _You can't possibly think you're going to be able to solve this alone. S.H.I.E.L.D. can help you, I can help you."_

"I could have killed Steve," Avery said, finally saying out loud the thought that had been racing in her mind for the greater part of a day. She couldn't tell Steve about the guilt she felt, or Tony for that matter, but she also could bear to keep it buried. She needed to tell someone, to talk about how horrible she felt about what happened and what could happen in the future. "And Tony, and Bruce, and Jane, and Darcy."

" _Avery, you…"_

"I'm scared of myself, Natasha." Avery welcomed the silence that stretched between them, finding that easier than what the other woman could have said. Avery let go of the denim and brought her hand up to her mouth, chewing on the cuticle on her thumb until she tasted blood. "I'm going to New Mexico. My mom had a house under a different name. I'm going there. If you want to tell Fury you can."

" _How long are you going to be gone?"_

"You're not going to tell him?"

" _No, I don't think I am. You've kept my secrets for this long, the least I can do is return the favor."_ Natasha's voice sounded slightly thicker than usual, filled with something Avery didn't understand or care to any time soon. _"I'll see what I can dig up on your friend Jack. Call me when you get to New Mexico, I'll have something for you."_

"I'm sorry I yelled."

" _Tell Tony and Steve I say hello."_

The phone clicked, disconnecting the line and leaving Avery sitting in the dirty alley in silence. After a moment, she stood up and scowled at herself, yanking her shorts back on over her new suit, grumbling to herself in annoyance as she marched back out of the alley.

She walked across the street towards the beach and immediately took her shoes off when she reached the sand.

It was hot between her toes, but she loved the gritty feel of it. She had forgotten how much she loved it. Her mom took her to the beach in Texas when she was six for her birthday. It was the first and only time they went, but it had been a transformative experience for her. Or at least, as transformative as it could be for a six year old and Avery had thought about it quite a bit since then. That beach trip had been at time before her powers started to manifest, back when things were simpler and her life was comparatively normal. Her mom had been healthy, relatively speaking.

Avery blinked, realizing that she was tiptoeing towards a territory that was hard to get out of.

She looked around the beach for Tony, inadvertently making eye contact with a pair of college guys as they headed towards the water. She waved awkwardly at the tallest when he smiled at her and nodded, looking away quickly when his gaze traveled down. She hurried in the opposite direction, glancing back over her shoulder despite herself.

She let out a puff of air, relieved, when she saw Tony staring at her from underneath a bright blue tent and a rather obnoxiously large hat.

"You do realize that's a ladies' hat, right?" Avery called, giving him her best fake smile as she hurried over.

"I am aware, yes."

"You look ridiculous."

Truly, he did. For reasons she couldn't begin to understand, Tony had decided that the best way to avoid being seen was the cover his face with a giant yellow sun hat and matching sunglasses. That alone would not have been too odd, considering how outlandish Tony was at times. The odd part, to her, was the fact that Tony brought Mandu along with them, rather than staying in the running car with him. The cat in question was sitting at their feet, attached to Tony by the leash, staring at the people who passed them by with the sort of indifference that Avery couldn't help but admire.

"It's called fashion. Look it up."

"Has anyone recognized you?"

"There was one woman who had the sort of crazed look of a Starkers life time club member."

"Starkers?"

"It's what my fans call themselves."

Avery nodded appreciatively. "It's clever. It's a triple pun." When Tony raised an eyebrow, she continued, "Starkers, like naked, starkers, like being crazy, and it kind of sounds like stalker. Although, I'm having a hard time understanding who would be a fan of you."

Tony made a noise at the back of his throat as he watched the people pass them by. A few people stared at Tony for a bit too long to be a passing glance, but, thankfully, kept walking when they saw the look on Avery's face and the peculiarity of the situation with Mandu.

"I know its Gabe Jones," Tony said, voice falsely casual. Avery looked over at him, not entirely sure why she was surprised he would be able to figure it out. He was alarmingly perceptive, even at the worst of times. "Don't look at me like that. It's not that hard to figure out."

"I'm just looking at you."

"We're in Georgia. Rogers has been in a nostalgic mood ever since we left New York, as evidenced by the music, the incessant need to talk about the change in gas prices, and his complete and utter obsession with making sure neither of us ask him too many questions about why we're here."

"To be fair, I don't need to ask him any questions."

"And why is that?"

"He told me last night, while I was crying into my overnight bag. He came into my room and said he got a call from Gabe about a week ago and that he wanted to see him."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I couldn't," She said simply, kicking a bit of said so she could avoid looking at him.

"Because of some weird loyalty thing, like rule number one of being an attractive blonde, or because of some freaky thing to do with your powers?"

"Probably a little bit of both," Avery said, keeping her voice light. It didn't fool him. After another moment, she sighed and turned back to him. "It's a quirk, more than anything. Nothing to get you panties in a twist about."

"I need you to stop doing that."

"What?"

"Burying the lead. How are we supposed to help you if you keep shit like this from us?"

"You don't even know what it is."

"Look, I'm standing on a beach with a cat in Georgia, of all places, because you need some serious help. The least you could do is tell me the truth. The whole truth, none of this skirting the issue that I'm sure you adopted because of your time with S.H.I.E.L.D.. I'm not them, and I don't appreciate you treating me like I am. Have you ever told me something that caused me to want to kick you out? No. For god's sake, you blew up my brand new lab and I'm not even angry."

Avery was thoroughly shamefaced in way she hadn't been for a long time.

"I can't tell someone's secrets once I'm told them."

"Like morally or…"

"Like, I physically can't do it. The only reason I can talk about what Steve told me is because you said it first. If you hadn't, I wouldn't been able to no matter how hard I tried."

Tony let out a low whistle. "Anything else?"

Avery thought for a moment, wracking her brain to think of what she had told them and what she hadn't. "That's about it."

"If I wake up tonight with a motel bible floating over my head, I'm not going to be happy."

"I'm not an exorcist."

"I was thinking more like telekinetic, but if you want to go the religious route, I'm down. The imagery is nice, if you think about it, and the irony is, of course, on point."

"I'm not telekinetic, that I know of."

"Precognitive?"

"You think my life would be such a shit show if I could see it coming beforehand?"

"That's fair, I guess." Tony tapped his chin. "Empathetic?" Avery shook her head. "Telepathic?"

"No, Tony. I'm not."

"Works for me," Tony said, bending down at the waist to scratch Mandu behind the ear. "But seriously, tell me next time." Avery smiled at him, appreciating the comfortable silence that fell between them. Tony kept petting Mandu, earning a purr from the cat for what Avery thought was the first time ever. "You know, he really is the ugliest cat I've ever seen."

Avery sat down in the sand and pat her lap, opening her arms for Mandu to jump in between her legs. He walked around in two small circles before he settled down in the sand. She rubbed her fingers along the bridge of Mandu's nose, turning her gaze back up to look at the ocean. The sun was going down, turning the water a pinky purple that reflected on the sand and made everything seem happier. She felt herself relax, her entire body sink into the sand as she let her mind wander away from what happened in New York the day before and onto what she would do when they made it back to New Mexico.

She hadn't actually thought that part through, mostly preoccupied with getting out of the city of over 8 million people with, what she assumed were, very soft heads just waiting to be exploded by a spontaneous golden shield. She wasn't planning on moving back, at least she didn't think she was, but she also wasn't planning on going back to the city in the foreseeable future.

Tony snapped his fingers in front of her face, cutting off her thought process before she could really get going.

"Cut that shit out. Enjoy the beach and the free cross-country road trip."

"So why are you here?"

"I'm chaperoning. Making sure Cap keeps it in his pants and what not. No one can afford a pregnancy scandal between a 95 year-old and a teenager."

"I'm twenty-two. And seriously?"

"Maybe for the same reasons you are." Tony pulled off his large sun hat and dropped in on the ground, plopping down next to her as he rubbed a hand thought his hair. Noticing the sly look Avery was giving him, Tony rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, expression more open than it had been throughout their entire conversation. Avery tried not to smile too much at the very idea of him telling her, having to bite her lip to keep from pushing him. She deflated slightly when he closed his mouth again. Instead, he reached out his hand and squeezed her shoulder, leaving it there for a moment longer before he pulled back and turned to look at the ocean.

* * *

They planned to drive through the night. Steve, having taken over driving from Avery over five hours before, glanced over his shoulder, watching Avery as she snored in the backseat. She had he arm thrown over her head and her legs tucked up underneath Tony's suit jacket. She had passed out some four hours before, collapsing into the seat without even bothering to buckle.

"Do you think she knows she snores?" Tony asked, looking back at her with a small smirk on his face.

"Probably."

She wasn't the sort to care, however. Steve glanced at her again. She turned in her spot and pressed herself into the seat awkwardly, sighing to herself when she got comfortable again.

"How did things go with Gabe?" Tony asked, rummaging around in the glove compartment until he found a bag of stale peanuts. He inspected them carefully before he shrugged and tore open the bag, popping a few in his mouth as he shifted in his seat.

"Good." Steve wasn't exactly surprised that he would have figured it out. Surprised, perhaps, that he had waited over five hours to bring it up. Steve had assumed that Howard would have kept in contact with the Howling Commandos after the war, so it was not out of the realm of possibilities that Tony would know them as well. "His granddaughter just got accepted to Harvard."

"Safety school," Tony said, reaching down to scoot his seat back so he could cross his legs more easily. "But good for her."

"Well, we can't all be geniuses like you."

"At least you're finally admitting it." Steve rolled his eyes and glanced back at Avery again. "If you keep doing that, we're going to crash. You might live, but the rest of us won't be so lucky."

The back of his neck turned red as he looked at the road pointedly, gripping the steering wheel tighter than was perhaps necessary.

"Wouldn't that be a fun headline," Steve said, trying to play along so Tony wouldn't notice his embarrassment.

"Captain America kills Iron Man and spunky plus-one in tragic car accident in the middle of nowhere."

"I think the locals call it Alabama."

"I hate the south," Tony said, eating a few more peanuts with a flourish. He glared at the large trees they passed, clearly just as unhappy about being stuck in Alabama for the next few hours as he was about Georgia and South Carolina and North Carolina and Virginia.

"The south isn't so bad."

"I suppose you would think that."

"Why's that?" Steve asked, almost hesitant to know the answer.

"No reason," Tony said, smirking slightly into his bag of peanuts as he downed the rest of them. "So, now that Gabe's crossed off the list, when are you going to call Peggy?"

Steve gripped the wheel even tighter. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I know you don't. Just like she," He paused for emphasis, jabbing his thumb back in Avery's direction. "Doesn't want to talk about being Asgardian, totally understandable, and Natasha doesn't want to talk about being an assassin, and Barton doesn't want to talk about what happened with Loki."

"And you don't want to talk about that nuke."

"This isn't going to be a heart to heart, Rogers. We aren't friends."

"Then why do you care whether or not I talk to Peggy? It's none of your business."

"That's where you're wrong."

"Excuse me?"

The tension crackled between them and Steve wished Avery would wake up just so she could serve as a buffer, like she had been for the majority of the trip, once again. It was effortless for her, the way she took what Tony said the best possible way and managed to keep from getting angry. Steve didn't have that ability, as hard as he tried, and he found that even when he was trying to be cordial, Tony tried his nerves more than anyone he had met in a long time. He almost reached back and shook her leg but resisted the urge. She was sleeping peacefully, for the first time in a few weeks as he understood, and he didn't want to wake her just for the sake of his own need to avoid fighting with Tony Stark.

That, he thought, was inevitable, so he might as well get it over with now before they were in the car longer and their tempers were shorter.

"You would know what I was talking about if you had actually bothered to reach out to them. Dad and Aunt Peggy remained good friends, for a time. Even when he was being a dick, which was always, she made sure to come see me."

"Aunt Peggy?"

"Like I said, she made sure to come and see me."

Steve forgot how to breathe for a moment. He felt a sting of bitterness in his chest, an unnatural anger towards the other man that was neither rational, nor fair. Still, he couldn't help it. The idea that Tony got to see her, got to spend time with her when he could not left a metallic taste in his mouth. It was partly his fault, for both refusing to go see her and for being too caught up in his own mind to accept that her life went on, without him and despite him. She had been all he thought about since waking up a month ago and the fact that his only reliable source of information, besides a colorless file filled with facts and nothing else, was Tony made everything all the worse.

"Have you seen her recently?"

"About a year ago. I called her two nights ago, though."

"How is she?"

"Annoyed at you for not calling, when she remembers, blissfully unaware of how much of a disappointment you are when she doesn't."

He wasn't wrong, but the reminder stung all the same. When he first read of Peggy's Alzheimer's he didn't want to believe. Or he couldn't. Either way, it meant that he didn't think about it anymore than he had to. He stole a quick look back at Avery again, finding that he understood her more than he ever had. There was a great deal he didn't want to think about, and a great deal more that he would just as soon forget.

Perhaps disappearing for a little bit was something they both needed.

Tony scoffed when Mandu hopped up on his lap from the floor, pushing the empty bag of peanuts out of Tony's lap as he walked around in a circle to get comfortable. "This animal is a monstrosity."

"He makes Avery happy."

"Speaking of," Tony said, clearly having been waiting for that particular segue. "You know she's not coming back for a while, right?"

"I know."

Steve did. She didn't say so, at least, not explicitly, but the look in her eyes was enough. He wasn't going to pretend like the idea didn't bother him, however. He didn't like the idea of her being alone in New Mexico any more than he liked the idea of being stuck in New York with Tony without her as a buffer. He didn't quite understand it, and even she brushed it off when he asked her about it, but she seemed to understand Tony at the most basic level. She forgave him when he was rude, or brash, or insensitive, when Steve couldn't.

He glanced back at her again, watching as she breathed in deeply and snuggled down into the seat and under Tony's jacket until only her eyebrows and mop of messy hair was sticking out. She stretched out a pale leg and shoved her foot into the back of Tony's seat, clearly unbothered enough by whatever she was dreaming about that she was able to relax completely. He wondered what sort of person she was going to be when she came back. In fact, he was uncomfortably excited to find out. He knew that he liked her a great deal as she was, even with her panic and flightiness and tendency for the overdramatic, and he wondered how much more of her personality he would get to see.

Steve looked back at the road, unsure of whether or not he liked the path his thoughts were going in.

It felt wrong, somehow, like he was being unfaithful to Peggy for even admiring another woman so soon, even if it was just for a brief moment.

And then he felt foolish. Avery was his friend.

If he told himself it enough times, he thought he would be able to convince himself that he wasn't starting to feel otherwise.

* * *

"Avery Marie Gudrun." Alexander Pierce dropped her file on his desk and stood up, glaring at the man in front of him. "Why wasn't I told about her sooner? Five months. Five, and all you can tell me is that she's talented at getting information out of people. There are a million and half people on earth that can claim the same thing."

"Director Fury has been keeping her hush hush. Only his top agents know about her and even then most of them are given half information."

"That's supposed to be the point of having you there. You don't build an empire on half information."

"I apologize, sir," Rumlow said, bowing his head slightly. Pierce scowled. He had never been fan of such meaningless posturing, preferring, instead, for a change in the behavior that produced more desirable results. "I've interacted with Gudrun only a handful of times and I've never seen her using her powers for very long."

"So we can't even confirm that this report is accurate."

"It is. The agents assigned to her have vouched for it."

Pierce pulled off his reading glasses and set them on top of the woman's personnel file. "No word about where she got her abilities?"

"There's some chatter, nothing concrete."

"I'm not interested in chatter. I expect more the next time we speak." Pierce did not normally like to defer to others, least of all a man like Brock Rumlow, but he found, given his sudden lack of information, he found he had no choice. It made it no less irksome, however.

"Yes sir."

"Who do you have on her?"

"Jack Rollins."

Pierce nodded and looked back down at her file picture. She stared at him through the picture, eyes jumping out of the page like a pair of polished pennies. "I want daily reports. She doesn't go anywhere, talk to anyone without me knowing about it."

"She's currently living in Stark Tower. Her employment file with S.H.I.E.L.D. is designated as active duty field agent, but Fury hasn't made any moves to get her back to D.C. She hasn't officially signed any employment contract and she hasn't cashed any checks yet. She only spends her time with Stark and Rogers. Other than that, this girl's a ghost."

"A bit young for Stark, isn't she?"

Rumlow smirked, causing Pierce to glower down at the picture once again.

"How close is she to Rogers?"

"Teammates. Why?"

Pierce felt his eyelid twitch at the insubordination, but said nothing. "We can use that. She's got no family to leverage against her. No friends. Teammates are the next best thing."

"I'll send word to Rollins."

"No. Wait." Pierce closed the file and tucked it beneath his arm. "If the rumors about what she can do are true, then I don't want her anywhere close to figuring it out. He keeps his distance, gathers information, and we strike when the timing is right."

"Yes sir."

"You keep on Rogers."

"Do you want somebody on Stark?"

"I have no use for Stark." Pierce sat back down at his desk and opened his drawer, keeping the picture out on his desk. "He's got nothing I can exploit. The pathetic ones, the ones with nothing but time and regret, those are the ones I can use. Head back to D.C. tonight. Rendezvous with S.T.R.I.K.E. and report back. We play this smart. I want no leaks."

"Understood."

The phone buzzed and Rumlow stood up straighter, sensing that their conversation was drawing to a close. "Yes, Darla?"

"Senator Stern is on the line."

"Put him through," Pierce said, picking up the phone. He waited for a moment, finger hovering over the connect button. He dismissed Rumlow with a flick of the wrist. The man nodded and backed away towards the door. "And Brock?"

"Sir?"

"Don't disappoint me."

He door clicked shut behind Rumlow and Pierce pressed the flashing button on the phone, forcing a pleasant smile onto his face as he slipped back into his politician persona. He looked down at photo in his hand, lips pursed for a moment before he dropped it into the draw on top of her file. "Senator Stern. I'm glad you called me back. I think you're going to like what I have to offer."

* * *

**End Part One**


End file.
